FATF to decide Pakistan Grey List status at Plenary Session on Oct 21.

The FATF  will examine, among other things, the assessment of an on-site team that visited Pakistan in September to verify the steps taken by the country to implement the plan of action.

A 15-member Financial Action Task Force team quietly visited Pakistan in September, the final step before the country’s removal from the grey list. The team’s findings would be discussed and reviewed at the FATF’s next meeting in its upcoming plenary session.

The positive findings of the onsite team would allow Pakistan to finally come clean about flaws in the system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

According to official sources, the Financial Action Task Force team, which was granted a state guest-level protocol, stayed in the country from August 29 to September 2.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved a special grant of Rs7 million for the FATF Secretariat to provide accommodation, food, and travel for the FATF team.

The visit was kept under wraps, but sources said the FATF delegation met with relevant authorities and verified Pakistan’s efforts to meet the international financial watchdog’s requirements on money laundering and terror financing.

The FATF hinted at Pakistan’s removal from the grey list in June after concluding that Pakistan complied with the 34-point plan of action and agreeing to send a team to verify those steps.

FATF Grey List

The FATF placed Pakistan on the grey list in June 2018 due to deficiencies in its system to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. It was given a 27-point action plan at first, and then another 7-point plan to comply with (FATF) standards.

Pakistani anti-terrorism court convicted Sajid Mir in a terror financing case, convincing (FATF) members to recognize Pakistan’s progress.

Pakistani officials were confident that the FATF team would give the country a positive assessment of its progress. Officials cautioned, however, that the neighboring country could still use its influence to drag Pakistan’s case.

The US is thought to have played a key role in ensuring Pakistan’s onsite visit, expressing satisfaction with the country’s measures to combat terror financing, particularly the prosecution of specific individuals.

The removal of Pakistan from the FATF grey list will help to restore Pakistan’s image and give foreign investors confidence in doing business in the country. The grey-listing makes financial transactions difficult for countries and raises the cost of doing business.

Pakistan’s likely removal from the grey list will provide a boost to the country’s struggling economy.

Bus Service fare increased from Rs 50 to Rs 100 after route extension.

The National Radio & Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), the organization that is federal runs and maintains the Peoples Bus Service (PBS) in the province, was allowed by the Sindh government to hike the tariffs of a bus route into the town by 100%, it absolutely was revealed on Sunday.

The NRTC, the Sindh Mass Transit Authority, and engineers from an event that is third all represented at the meeting of the fare adjustment committee for intercity channels when the decision to that particular impact ended up being made.

In accordance with them, the newly extended PBS route from Gulshan-i-Hadeed to Tower now has a fare that is maximum of instead of Rs50 because to the increased distance of 58km.

Route Map

The route starts at Allah Wali Chowrangi in Gulshan-i-Hadeed and ends at Tower. The Malir neighborhood, Malir Halt, Colony Gate, Natha Khan Bridge, Drigh Road Station, PAF Base Faisal, Lal Kothi, Karsaz, Nursery, FTC, Metropole, Kara on the way, it passes through Steel Town, Port Qasim Chowrangi, Manzil Petrol Pump, Quaidabad

Since the path was once from Gulshan-i-Hadeed to Malir Cantt, the operator was reported by them began charging Rs100 three days ago.

According to the sources, the PBS grew up by the operator fare since operating the buses on the route that extended up to 58 kilometers was not economically sustainable.

An official of the Sindh Mass Transit Authorities (SMTA), who requested to remain anonymous, claimed that the authority immediately contacted the operator after receiving complaints about the operator charging Rs100 for also smaller distances on the routes. The fare that is minimum the shorter distance is no longer Rs. 50, he continued.

The NRTC has made a decision to raise the fares for all PBS lines starting in the next thirty days because of increasing fuel expenses for the time being, based on the sources.

KMC Engineering department transforms Karachi with 1000 million grant.

According to a KMC official on Friday, Administrator Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab has instructed the Director General to finish building these unfinished roads within the allotted 45 days.

Among the District Central routes where construction work started right away were Gharibabad to Usman Memorial Hospital, Madina Masjid Food Street, Ziauddin Hospital Chowrangi to Mujahid Colony, Sir Syed Girls College to Lasbela Chowk, Bada Maidan to Khilifat Chowk, and M. Mateen Food Road. The construction of each of these roads will cost Rs. 50 million.

Construction is underway:

Construction is underway on Tipu Sultan Mubarak Shaheed Road, East District University Road, Sindhi Muslim Society Chowrangi and Commercial Area, Link Road, and Tipu Sultan Mubarak Shaheed Road.

Shahrah e Attar and surrounding areas, Shahrah e Iran, Shahrah e Liaquat, and MA Jinnah Road are all being construction in the South District at a cost of each Rs. 50 million.

Similar to that, from Bhens Colony to Mehran Highway, Khalid Bin Waleed Road is being constructed in Malir. Internal streets, Ammar Yasir Phase One, the path from Qadeer Chowk to Nafees Cinema, and all of these are now being constructed.

The Site Flyover to Lyari Expressway, Jackson Market Road, and other nearby roads are being restored or constructed in the West and Keamari Districts.

Likewise:

Likewise, expansion joints on bridges and flyovers are being replaced.

The expansion joints on the flyovers opposite National Stadium at Quaidabad, Malir Naddi, Natha Khan, Hassan Square, Johar Mor, and Qasim Umar will be replaced.

According to Administrator Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab, quality should be taken into account in these operations to ensure that the roads being built are durable.

KMC for Immediate Relief:

He extended appreciation to the Sindh Chief Minister and the Pakistan People’s Party leadership for giving a grant of $1 billion to the KMC for immediate relief.

All roads were previously motorised to restore traffic flow, according to the Administrator of Karachi; however, these roads are currently being restored.

He asserted that in addition to the road repair, a drainage system, walkways, and street lights were put in. going.

These are the roads that a large number of residents utilise to connect different regions, according to Barrister Murtaza Wahab.

Pakistan Calls for New Global Security Framework Amid Nuclear Arms.

“Nuclear disarmament obligations remain largely unfulfilled, as evidenced by the constant shifting of goalposts toward additional non-proliferation measures,” Ambassador Khalil Hashmi told the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security.

The integrity of long-standing rules is eroded by the creation of exceptions and the pursuit of discriminatory policies, according to Ambassador Hashmi, Pakistan’s permanent representative to UN offices in Geneva.

“Military capabilities are assuming a force multiplier character due to growing weaponization and integration across nuclear, outer space, cyber, conventional, and AI (Artificial Intelligence) domains,” he said at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Nuclear dangers were increasing, and war was “returning to the realm of possibility,” he added. He added that a handful of states appeared determined to maintain the status quo in order to maintain their strategic advantage.

As a result, the Pakistani envoy stated that political and military tensions, strategic imbalances, and nuclear threats are on the rise.

In reference to India’s arms buildup, Ambassador Hashmi remarked, “Many of these disturbing trends are visible in South Asia, where the largest state continues to benefit from nuclear exceptionalism and discrimination in the application of international norms and legality.”

He continued, saying that India “continues to be a generous beneficiary of conventional and non-conventional armaments, technology, and platforms.”

According to Pakistani Representative

Nuclear weapons and their delivery methods are no longer isolated, and it is clear that a more robust and equitable international security architecture is needed.

He stated that Pakistan remained dedicated to the universal, verifiable, and non-discriminatory goal of a weapons-free world.

The cardinal principles enshrined in the first special session of the General Assembly dedicated to disarmament, namely that it was the primary responsibility of militarily significant states to pursue disarmament in an equitable and balanced manner and in a way that ensured that no individual state or group of states obtained advantages over others at any stage, were also to be faithfully adhered to and implemented, he continued.

According to Ambassador

Pakistan also underlined its demand that talks on a thorough Nuclear Weapons Convention start right away.

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) agenda item that has been around the longest is a proposal for a negative security assurance (NSA), he claimed.

According to Pakistan, the time is now for treaty negotiations since it has the ability to significantly improve the climate for fostering confidence and reducing tensions.