Pak Foreign Minister Briefs US Counterpart On Action Taken Against Terror

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi today briefed his American counterpart Mike Pompeo about the steps taken by Islamabad to address the concerns raised by the Financial Action Task Force or FATF, including curbing terror funding activities in the country and areas under its occupation.

Mr Qureshi, who is on an official visit to the UK, had a telephonic conversation with Mike Pompeo to discuss bilateral relations and regional peace and security, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office in Islamabad.

Paris-based international terror financing watchdog FATF in June last year placed Pakistan on its watch list in a bid to push the country to end its support for terror groups.

In February, the FATF decided to continue the ''Grey'' listing of Pakistan for its failure to stop funding of terrorist groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed or JeM, Lashkar-e-Taiba or LeT, and Jamat ud Dawa or JuD.

Last month a 10-member Pakistani delegation attended a two-day meeting of FATF's Asia-Pacific Group (APG) in Guangzhou, China, where it defended Pakistan's efforts against money laundering and terror financing.

"He also spoke about the steps that Pakistan has been taking for compliance with the FATF action plan. In this context, he highlighted the regulatory mechanisms that have been put in place to curb money laundering and terror financing practices," the statement read.

Mr Qureshi also briefed Mike Pompeo about the steps being taken by Pakistan in accordance with the National Action Plan to counter terrorism and the initiatives to carry out economic restructuring.

The two sides also discussed the reconciliation process in Afghanistan and expressed commitment to work towards bringing lasting peace in the region, the statement read.

Mr Qureshi is in the UK on an official visit and met home secretary Sajid Javid to discuss various bilateral issued. The two sides also on Monday kicked off the first round of long-ranging strategic dialogue to deepen cooperation.