- Interior minister says nobody should be allowed to enter Pakistan without completing immigration procedures
The Ministry of Interior Affairs on Tuesday decided that after suspension of landing permits, all foreigners entering Pakistan without valid visas or without completing immigration process, would be proceeded against under law, which could include arrest and prosecution.
The decision was taken during a meeting here, which was chaired by Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Taking note of visa irregularities and breach of security protocols by advance teams and accompanying staff of various hunting parties, Nisar directed the ministry, FIA and the Civil Aviation to put in place an effective system for streamlining and checking any breach of law.
He further directed the ministry to identify all airports and landing strips in the country where delegations arrive for hunting purpose, devise standing operating procedures (SOPs) for immigration and customs clearance at places lacking these facilities and also evolve a robust mechanism of information-sharing among the Immigration Department, Interior Ministry and Aviation Division.
The minister directed that the process be completed within one week time. Nisar said that FIA and the Civil Aviation should ensure that no plane was allowed to land without prior clearance of the Interior Ministry. He directed the Aviation Division and FIA to also ensure that landing permission be only granted after ascertaining number of people on-board, their nationality and nature of their visas.
The minister reiterated his call that nobody should be allowed to enter Pakistan without completing immigration procedures. He reviewed progress on his earlier directives regarding traffic management in the twin cities. The meeting also decided that e-ticketing would be started in the federal capital within next two weeks to streamline system of penalties for traffic rules violations and to save citizens from hassles of long queues outside designated banks for depositing challan fee.
Expressing his dis-satisfaction over traffic management system, he observed that scientific methods should be adopted for traffic regulation and management, reiterating that the safe city cameras should be utilised for optimum resource management and smooth traffic flow.
He directed the Islamabad IGP to review traffic arrangements and focus on better traffic discipline and management rather than harassing people over fancy registration plates. The minister said that emphasis should be put on traffic discipline, action against tinted glasses, and forged, unregistered or fake registration plates.
Acting interior secretary, advocate general, inspector general of police and the chief commissioner, and senior officers of the ministry, FIA and the Aviation Division attended the meeting.
BAD REPUTATION: Further progress has been made to oust from the FIA officers and personnel with bad reputation. According to the Interior Ministry, the purge in FIA was being carried out on the orders of the interior minister.
An inquiry committee comprising senior officers of the Intelligence Bureau, ISI and FIA recommended investigation of assets of 20 officers of FIA. It was also proposed that these 20 officers should not be posted on any important seat till the completion of inquiry.
It was also decided to keep monitoring four other officers of dubious reputation for the next two years. A supervising officer will prepare an annual report about honesty and character of these officers. The inquiry committee recommended to remove names of 12 officers from the list of dubious persons.
During the investigation by the intelligence agencies, no allegation could be proved against these officers therefore, it was recommended to remove the names of these 12 officers from the list of those having dubious reputation.