Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan directed National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) for immediate geo-mapping of Karachi and Quetta to counter terrorism footprints in provincial capitals.
A meeting presided over by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday directed 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.
The meeting had been 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, said a press release.
The interior ministry has allowed 46 international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) to operate in the country.
During the meeting, it was informed that 132 INGOs had applied for registration under a new policy, of which 46 applications had been approved and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) had been signed with 37 organisations for three years.
The meeting was informed that some applicants were found not falling in the category of INGOs.
The minister said the registration process would be completed within six months.
He said rules were in place to ensure that the INGOs worked under clearly defined guidelines. He said the INGOs which did not meet the criterion would be asked to leave.
Chaudhry Nisar said the INGOs which had applied online and were awaiting approval would continue to operate till all the applications were decided.
He said none of the applications had so far been declined.
The minister said no INGO should be barred from working unless it was found jeopardising security. He said all INGOs would be brought under the new policy through a transparent system.
-Re-verification of CNICs-
The minister also announced that 334 aliens had voluntarily returned their Computerized National Identity Card (CNICs), the Interior Minister extended amnesty scheme deadline for another one month only for aliens. The deadline was due to expire on August 31.
Over 56 million CNICs were verified by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) during the
ongoing CNIC re-verification drives 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 had 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.
-E-passports-
The minister ordered the launch of the e-passport facility in the country and said a pilot project should begin within three months. The chip-embedded e-passport based on the most modern technology would minimise chances of fake passports.
Chaudhry Nisar said that since 2014 over 2.1m passports had been issued with 10-year validity. The 10-year validity passports, he said, were meant to ease the load at passport offices and limit the trouble of applicants.
He said the passport directorate had generated Rs20 billion for the national treasury, suggesting that part of this revenue should be used for providing e-passports to the citizens.
He asked the Federal Investigation Agency to submit a list by Wednesday with details of the cases in which Pakistan had sought extradition of individuals from various countries. He also called for preparation of a standard operating procedure to pursue the matter on a fast-track basis.