FIA slaps Rs7.5m fine on foreign airlines

All foreign airlines directed by Chaudhry Nisar not to carry any person into Pakistan who does not have a visa

ISLAMABAD:

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has imposed a fine of Rs7.5 million on different foreign airlines for violating visa rules.

On the directives of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, all foreign airlines have been told not to carry any person into Pakistan who does not have a visa. To effectively pursue the case, heavy fines have also been imposed on airlines which have violated the rules in this regard.



According to the spokesman of the interior ministry, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has issued notices to the tune of Rs7.5 million to different foreign airlines and so far Rs2.5 million have already been collected and deposited to the national exchequer. In the past, a large number of foreigners were allowed to enter Pakistan without obtaining visas and the nationality of such persons was not usually certified. Action against this practice was rarely observed in the past, said the spokesman.

Due to the criminal negligence of the authorities concerned, the rules and regulations pertaining to Pakistan’s visas were severely violated, while the persons from different nationalities with a criminal background entered Pakistan. The interior minister took notice of the situation and ordered the FIA to take action against such people.

Following the directives of the interior minister, FIA deported dozens of persons on the next available flight who had incomplete travelling documents with them.



Noted Australian cricketer Dean Jones was also denied entry into Pakistan recently, as he had incomplete travel documents. Veteran Indian actress Sharmila Tagore was also stopped by the FIA at Wagah Border on the same grounds.

According to the spokesman, these precedents explicitly reveal that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law.

The spokesman said that as per the directives of the interior minister, the FIA is implementing the rules and regulations regarding visa procedure and no airline would be spared in this regard.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2016.