K-P Assembly: Federal NoC for foreign visitors to K-P opposed

Adopts resolution condemning interior minister’s decision

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday urged the Ministry of Interior to withdraw its condition of getting a no-objection certificate for foreign delegates visiting the province.

In an effort to lay stress on its demand, the assembly also adopted a resolution condemning Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s decision of not granting NoC to the country director of the Department for International Development (DfID) who was to arrive in the province to attend a meeting.

Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan raised the issue in the house and then moved the resolution which was adopted by the house with a majority vote.

“The foreign delegates should be facilitated to visit the provincial capital of K-P and the provincial government would provide security to the visiting delegates,” the resolution stated.

Earlier in his speech, Inayatullah questioned why foreign delegates were required to get a NoC from the interior ministry only to visit K-P.

Inayatullah was seconded by Pakistan Peoples Party’s lawmaker Saleem Khan and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam- Fazl’s Mufti Fazal Ghafoor saying that the NOC requirement is repelling potential donors.

Speaker of the house, Asad Qaiser asked Sardar Aurangzeb Nalota of the PML-N to use his party sources for abolishing the requirement of obtaining a NoC.

The assembly also passed a resolution asking the federal government to take steps to extend right of balloting to the transgender community.

The resolution was moved by PML-N MPA Amna Sardar asking the federal government to take steps for easing the registration process for transgender so that they could participate in the general elections in 2018.

The house also adopted a resolution for resolving the computerised national identity cards (CNIC) issue for the people of K-P and Fata.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2016.