Pakistan says it will be placed back on financial watch list

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry says the country will be placed back on a financial watch list by a global task force to give it more time to take steps against terror financing and money laundering.

Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal at a news conference Thursday downplayed implications of the decision, saying the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force in February had informed Pakistan that it would be returned to its “grey list” in June.

Faisal said the task force will make a formal announcement Friday.

Pakistan was on the list from 2012-2015 and its return may deter foreign investment in the Islamic nation. Countries on the list have problems including money laundering and terrorist financing that pose a risk to the international financial system.