Pakistan

Pakistan, France deportation row defused

The envoy added that France wants to work with Pakistan on the issue of deportees

Our Correspondent June 11, 2016

The envoy added that France wants to work with Pakistan on the issue of deportees. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: France’s deputy ambassador and the European Union envoy met Pakistan’s interior secretary on Friday to defuse a diplomatic row between Islamabad and Paris over an attempt to deport a Pakistani citizen which prompted a strong reaction from Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar a day earlier.

France’s interior department had wanted to deport Muhammad Mansha to Pakistan for criminal activity, vaguely defined as ‘severe moral crimes’. When the matter was raised with Nisar, he reacted strongly. The minister insisted on Thursday that Pakistan would only accept deportees as per its laws and no unverified individual would be issued a Pakistani passport.

The deportee problem

During Friday’s meeting, the French envoy said Paris’s stance had not been conveyed to Pakistan’s interior ministry in proper context, leading to a misunderstanding. The envoy added that France wants to work with Pakistan on the issue of deportees.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2016.