National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi was accused of nepotism by a Frontier Constabulary (FC) commandant on Tuesday, as the Senate Standing Committee on Interior sought a detailed briefing from the Interior Ministry with a clear roadmap to control the deteriorating state of law and order and on action against illegal immigrants living in the country.
FC Peshawar Commandant Akbar Hoti alleged that in a letter, Kundi had forced him to induct 19 of his men in the paramilitary force who did not fulfill the required criteria. Giving a briefing on alleged “illegal appointments” in FC Peshawar, Hoti told the NA committee that all appointments in FC Peshawar were made through proper procedure on the basis of merit. “Faisal Kundi directed me through a letter, carrying 19 names of his choice, to induct them into the FC, but I didn’t oblige as they were not fulfilling set criteria. When I refused to budge on principles… Kundi started seeing illegal appointments at FC Peshawar,” the commandant said.
He also showed the alleged letter to reporters and members of the committee, which met here at Parliament House with NA Member Abdul Qadir Patal in the chair. At one stage, the chair directed that Kundi’s name be expunged from the committee’s proceeding. On Hoti’s request, the committee recommended that the ban on new recruitments in FC be lifted immediately and full uniform be provided to FC men. Meanwhile, Awami National Party (ANP) NA Member Bushra Gohar said lawmakers’ phones were being tapped. Upon this, a Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) official said calls could be tapped, and it just might be that some authorities had been tapping them, but it was not the domain of the PTA.
“We have nothing to do with tapping phones,” he said. She also presented a bill seeking amendment in the Pakistan Citizenship Act of 1951. However, some committee members and Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry opposed the bill on the grounds that it would benefit illegal immigrants “and some of them may be anti-state elements.” While discussing the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) (Amendment) Bill of 2010, NADRA Chief Officer Amir Alam Khan told the committee that the authority was going to replace existing identity cards with new ones.
He said that by the end of the year, new cards would be introduced with advanced security features. “The new cards cannot be properly photocopied,” he said. The committee took serious notice of this step and expressed reservations with cards that could not be photocopied properly. The Senate Standing Committee on Interior, meanwhile, expressed grave concerns over the terrorist attacks on Pakistan Naval Base (PNS) Mehran in Karachi, and told the Interior Ministry to take action against illegal immigrants, since they could be involved in the attacks.
“We do not want just a briefing for the sake of briefing. We want clear plans and concrete measures the Ministry of Interior has envisaged to bring law and order in the country under control,” Committee Chairman Senator Talha Mahmood said. Meanwhile, Federal Investigation Agency Peshawar Deputy Director Zaib Khan told the committee that the Pakistan International Airlines had caused a loss of Rs 3 million to the national exchequer in buying vehicles to pick and drop its employees.
