Pakistan wants to become member of FATF: Foreign Minister Bilawal

NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that since “Pakistan has completed our joint action plans, now Pakistan aspires to be a member of the FATF,” adding that “we shouldn’t move towards this sort of economic warfare where if I’m not happy that x country is doing well in a particular field, then I should put sanctions on them.”

Addressing a press briefing, Bilawal said “if you look at the data, more Muslims have been killed in terrorist attacks from 2001, up until 2022.” He further said “we have lost far more lives to terrorism than India has. Why would we want our own people to suffer? We absolutely do not.” He further said “my mother throughout her life advocated for peace with India. She believed it was in the benefit of the people of India and Pakistan to live peacefully.”

He said “we can’t give up on engaging with Afghanistan. I don’t believe Afghanistan’s issues will sort out if I turn my back on them, or if the rest of the world stops talking.” He said “it’s incredibly important for us to facilitate the functioning of Afghanistan’s economy so that there can be some activity to withstand the shocks that we all are facing.”

Commenting on attack on Pakistan’s Embassy in Kabul, He said “the interim government in Afghanistan have not only assured us that they will address our security concerns, but they immediately acted to catch the terrorist involved in the incident.”

Referring to post flood scenario, he said “today, parts of my country are still underwater. Parts of Sindh, parts of Balochistan are still underwater. Economically for them, this is absolutely devastating.

Commenting on November 3 assassination attempt on life of Imran Khan, Bilawal said “this was not just an attack on Imran Khan. It was an attack on the former PM. This is not about political differences, we want to see the facts. There is an investigation ongoing on a provincial level.”

The Foreign Minister said “we have consistently and aggressively, over the past 7 months, heightened our engagement not only with the US, but all our neighbours, and the US has made a whole host of accommodations for the people of Pakistan post floods, whether it’s money or their documents.”

Commenting on Russia-Ukraine conflict, Bilawal said whatever is happening in Ukraine isn’t staying in Ukraine. Unfortunately, he said, as a result of this conflict, the war, and “as a result of the associated sanctions, we have seen difficult economic times.” About recent trip of Pak delegation to Russia for securing oil deal, he said “up until now, we haven’t received, nor are we getting any oil from Russia.”

He said “unfortunately, when it comes to the issue of Kashmir, the world is content that the UN Security Council resolutions go unimplemented.”