ISLAMABAD, Sept 5: The government has made it mandatory for foreign nationals to get themselves registered with the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).

“Foreigners’ registration, their entry and exit should be consolidated in the national database by Nadra. For this purpose, Nadra will develop a software,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told a meeting here on Monday.

The meeting decided that foreigners shall get exit certificate from local police authorities otherwise they may be stopped from leaving the country.

If the decision is implemented, it will be for the first time in the country when foreigners will be registered by Nadra and then by the police.

“At present, there is no check on foreigners and their activities in the country; as a result, sometimes they commit crimes without any hesitation,” said a senior official of the interior ministry.

However, the meeting did not mention what would be the procedure for registering the foreign nationals with Nadra.

The meeting directed Federal Investigation Agency to get details of the total number of arms licences (both prohibited and non-prohibited bores) issued by the interior ministry since 2000.

The agency will conduct an inquiry based on the record of National Bank of Pakistan, which was authorised to collect challans and fee deposits of arm licences.

Nadra will revalidate all the arm licences issued by the ministry as well as the provincial governments, and Rs1,100 will be charged for prohibited and Rs600 for non-prohibited bore licences as the revalidation fee.

The meeting was informed that local Nadra offices would receive applications and also issue arm licences.

The interior minister will inaugurate the distribution of arm licences at Islamabad Nadra headquarters on September 22.

The minister also directed the Printing Corporation of Pakistan to provide complete record of the total number of copies of arm licences issued to the federal and provincial governments since 1947. The meeting said fake arm licence holders should be tried under Section 420 of Pakistan Penal Code and other such laws