Safe in K-P: Seven days required to issue NOCs for foreigners

Home dept tells centre, province to give sufficient time to plan security.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Home and Tribal Affairs department has updated all federal and provincial ministries and departments regarding new procedures for inviting foreigners.

According to a handout issued on Monday by the information directorate, the home department has requested the central and provincial governments to send requests for no-objection certificates (NOC) for foreigners’ visits at least seven working days prior to the expected arrival of the guests. The requests for the NOCs should be sent to the home department in Peshawar.

The handout states that as the home department is responsible to ensure foolproof security, it needs time to formulate a well-coordinated plan and issue field formations to police and other law enforcement agencies. The seven-day notice is needed to avoid any untoward incidents, said the statement.

The K-P government has more than sufficient reason to up its game as far as the safety of foreigners in the region is concerned. As recently as May, a Chinese tourist Hong Xu Dong was kidnapped from Daraban near DI Khan. Part of a cycling tour traversing Pakistan, Dong was taken on May 19, 65 kilometres from DI Khan by two men on a motorcycle. Later, a faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the abduction.

In 2013 in neighbouring Gilgit-Baltistan, foreign trekkers at the base camp of Nanga Parbat were slain. Recent reports from official and militant sources suggest the attack was orchestrated to kidnap a dual national, a Chinese and American citizen by the name of Chen Honglu.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2014.