ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Ministry of Interior has taken a serious notice regarding the issuance of Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) to Afghan nationals who have, in some instances, obtained Pakistani Passports and subsequently traveled to Saudi Arabia.
In a significant development, the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has dispatched 12,096 Pakistani Passports from the possession of Afghan nationals to the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh.
As a result, a High-level Committee, Chaired by the Director General of Immigration & Passport, has been constituted to conduct a detailed probe and investigation regarding the issuance of fake / forged CNICs and Passports to Afghan nationals traveling to Saudi Arabia.
The Committee will probe the issue as following Terms of References (TORs):
- To ascertain the passes in the issuance of Passports
- To determine the connivance of various institutions to facilitate the departure from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia
- To determine the responsibility of various officers in NADRA, IMPASS, and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) etc in the process and suggest remedial measures to curb this menage in future.
- To suggest a way forward for future to improve the process.
The Committee shall present its findings and recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior within 15 days.
The Directorate General Immigration and Passport said that it has raised the level of scrutiny for the issuance of new and renewed Passports in order to control such type of practices which is causing detrimental effect against the Country.
The Director General has pledged to adopt the policy of zero tolerance against such acts. In this regard, it has requested the public to cooperate with the Passport issuing authorities for inordinate delay in issuance of Passport.
