ISLAMABAD – Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Monday ate his own words by lifting the condition that made it binding on artists to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Interior Ministry before travelling abroad. The ban was imposed by the Interior Ministry after the arrest of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in India for carrying an amount in excess of allowed limit.
A source told Pakistan Today that the decision had been made in view of directions passed by President Asif Ai Zardari on receiving negative feedback from artists over the condition. An inter-ministerial meeting had decided to regulate “foreign visits of public servants, artists and journalists in the interest of Pakistan’s security and to safeguard the country’s prestige”.
