ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik called on Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf at Prime Minister House on Saturday evening and briefed him about the security situation in the country.

He also briefed him on the measures taken recently by the Interior Ministry for the improvement of the situation.

The Prime Minister directed the Interior Minister to arrange dispatch of three buses from Islamabad to Gilgit so that the people in the area can come back to their hometowns to celebrate Eid with their loved ones.

The Interior Minister assured the Prime Minister that these buses will be provided with proper security and escorted en-route.

The PM who had earlier met a delegation of overseas Pakistanis from UK was told by them that the fee for new passports was being increased.

The Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf directed the Minister of Interior to freeze the charges as before.

Rehman Malik assured the Prime Minister that overseas Pakistanis will be charged the same as before and no increase will be affected.

The Prime Minister also took up the matter of absence of provision of issuance of Machine Readable Passports and NICORP Cards to Pakistanis in Bradford which was creating hardships for them.

He directed the Interior Minister Rehman Malik to facilitate the issuance of machine readable passports in Bradford within two weeks.

Rehman Malik assured the PM that his directions will be complied with and the Interior Ministry will ensure that these facilities were made available to them in Bradford within two weeks.

While talking to the Interior Minister, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf revealed that he had urged the overseas Pakistanis to make investments in the country and send their remittances through legal channels.

Also, the Prime Minister had instructed the State Bank of Pakistan to ensure that transactions involving remittances were completed in the minimum possible time.

The Prime Minister appreciated the untiring efforts being made by the Interior Minister for improving security and praised him for making progress in the investigations into recent incidents in Gilgit as well as Kamra Airbase.

Rehman Malik informed the Prime Minister that all necessary measures would be taken to ensure improvement in the law and order situation and he is personally monitoring the situation.