ISLAMABAD: Interior Minis­ter Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has placed a ban on issuance of visas on arrival to all aliens, including foreign dignitaries.

Chairing a meeting on Monday, the minister ordered the immediate suspension of visas on arrival under the guise of landing permits. He said carelessness could not be allowed in this regard as it could give rise to serious irregularities.

Talking to reporters, the minister revealed that 34,000 landing permits had been issued since 2007 — at an average of over 3,000 permits per year. He observed that such arrangements should be on a reciprocal basis only.

He ordered the interior ministry to revise and update visa rules and regulations, besides introducing an online visa regime for transparency, minimising discretion and expediteing the entire process.

With the launch of the online visa application and visa regime, the interior minister claimed, any anomaly in issuance of visas would be effectively eliminated.

The orders for introduction of the new online visa system were passed after the disclosure that the Pakistan Peoples Party government had empowered the then Pakistan ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, to issue visas to Americans without referring the matter for clearance to security agencies.

PTA told to remove social media pages that could cause religious unrest in the country

According to the minister, the central visa database was essential as it would enable the state institutions to keep a tab on all those travelling to Pakistan on any visa category.

To ensure strict surveillance of the country’s land, sea and air route along with entry and exit points, the minister ordered speedy completion of the concept paper for the modern Immigration and Border Control Department.

He said that as a first step, a separate body of immigration and border management should be set up under the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

He said that the new immigration department would strengthen border management of the country which was currently managed by the FIA.

Case updates

FIA officials briefed the minister on recoveries made in various cases, including human trafficking, and the recoveries made from petroleum marketing companies in lieu of petroleum levy.

They informed Chaudhry Nisar that the FIA had recovered Rs2.51 billion in various cases in 2016. An amount of Rs2.13bn was recovered and deposited in the national treasury in the inquiry into recovery of petroleum levy.

The FIA recovered Rs528 million in 2010, Rs690m in 2011 and Rs110m in 2012. The recoveries made by the FIA during the present government’s tenure stood at Rs2.23bn in 2013, Rs2.27bn in 2014 and Rs6.39bn in 2015.

The minister was also informed that a fine of Rs94m had been imposed on foreign airlines for violating the visa policy. They were asked to take the passengers, who had arrived in Pakistan without a visa, back to the port of their embarkation on their own cost.

Social media

On the issue of action against individuals involved in posting blasphemous content on social media, the minister reiterated that blasphemous and terrorism-related content on social media were intolerable. He directed that legal assistance be solicited from countries against those who were promoting or funding such activities from abroad.

The minister directed the FIA to continue working with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to remove social media pages which could cause religious unrest in the country or glorify terrorism or terrorists on the internet.

The Islamabad Capital Territory Administration gave a detailed briefing on various steps taken to enhance security of the capital, including security measures at shrines along with different entry and exit points of the capital city.

Chaudhry Nisar asked the ICTA to ensure the establishment of two free lanes for smooth entry and exit of commuters travelling between the twin cities.

He also called for strict implementation of rules and regulations in the ministry and its attached departments. “Indifference to this responsibility or a lacklustre approach in addressing problems of the people will invite serious notice and action,” he warned.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2017