Moving ahead with strategic counter terrorism measures the Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan directed National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) for immediate geo-mapping of Karachi and Quetta to counter terrorism footprints from provincial capitals.
The Interior Minister was chairing a high-level security meeting here on Friday, also attended by secretary Interior, special secretary Interior, National Coordinator NACTA, chairman NADRA, director general Immigration and Passport, and senior representatives from FIA and Islamabad Police.
Expressing satisfaction that 334 aliens have voluntarily returned their CNICs, the Interior Minister extended amnesty scheme deadline for another one-month only for aliens which was due to expire on August 31st.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister’s directions for geo mapping came at a time when both Karachi and Quetta were being focused by the Federation to ensure peace in the provincial capitals.
NADRA: Over 56 million CNICs were verified by NADRA during the ongoing CNIC re-verification drive within a span of two months achieving re-verification of 60 percent CNICs.
The minister was informed by the chairman NADRA that 80 officials of authority were also identified who had willfully included aliens in Pakistani family trees.
The Interior Minister appreciated the amount of public cooperation and media’s resounding built up for ongoing national security CNIC re-verification.
The Minister pointed out that financial benefit should also be given to the aliens who have voluntarily returned Pakistani CNICs.
The Interior Minister also directed NADRA to expedite disciplinary actions against those officials of the authority responsible for including aliens in NADRA’s database.
INGOs: The Interior Minister noted that decision over all INGOs would be given within a span of six months.
He remarked that ministry would bring INGOs in line with new INGOs registration policy along with a robust monitoring mechanism.
Interior Ministry official while briefing the Interior Minister informed that it had received 132 applications from INGOs for registration with the government to operate in Pakistan.
It was conveyed that 46 INGOs have been cleared and allowed to work in Pakistan after meeting all the requirements of the Interior Ministry.
The Interior Minister appreciated the INGOs registration wing observing that till the completion of the INGOs registration process no INGO, which has formally applied for the registration under the new policy, would be barred from working in Pakistan.
E-Passports: The Interior Minister said that E-passport facility should be launched within next few months in this context he directed Immigration and Passport officials to start a pilot project in the first phase in Islamabad.
The Interior Minister remarked that it was positive to know that since year 2014 over 2.1 million passports were issued with 10 year validity time. The ten-year validity passports, he said, were meant to ease the load at passport offices and limit the trouble of passport seekers.
Interior Minister noted that passport directorate has also generated Rs20 billion for national treasury suggesting that part of this revenue should be used for provision of e-passports to the citizen.
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