Pakistan

Over 3,500 foreign nationals married to Pakistanis in a bind

Interior ministry has banned issuance of Pakistan Origin Card

Danish Hussain March 15, 2017

PHOTO: EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD: Over 3,500 foreign nationals married to Pakistanis have been pushed between a rock and a hard place because of the interior ministry’s decision to ban issuance of the relevant Pakistani identity document – Pakistan Origin Card – to them.

Bank accounts and properties in Pakistan of those affected by the government’s move could potentially be frozen or at the very least become inaccessible.

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Neither the ministry has been admitting new POC applications which, according to Nadra’s website, have surged to 15,673, nor renewing the expired ones.

The ministry’s website has been running a one-line message: “As per directions of the Ministry of Interior, issuance of POC on the basis of spouse is no longer available”.

The facility has been withdrawn on the recommendations of sensitive security agencies.

The ban has made the lives of some 3,515 foreign spouses [holders of expired POCs] very difficult.

According to a document of the International Operations Department, the 3,515 foreign spouses hold moveable or immoveable properties in Pakistan and bank accounts under their names.

Due to the ban, they are now unable to sell their properties and operate bank accounts, and above all they have lost all the rights Pakistan guarantees to them under the POC.

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As a result, Pakistan has been denying them visa-free entry, indefinite stay in the country, exemption from foreigner registration requirements, permission to purchase or sell property and right to open and operate bank accounts.

In the document of the International Operations Department, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, now the Ministry of Interior has been told that these 3,515 foreign spouses are facing immense difficulties due to the expiry of their POCs and the question arises if they [holder of the expired POCs] can still hold their property and bank accounts under their names.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2017.

COMMENTS (17)

Asif | 7 years ago | Reply issue them POC they need it what other choice you have given them ?

Rizwan Farooqi | 7 years ago | Reply My wife and I are married for past 16 years and have 2 children are directly affected. I am an engineer and she is a chartered accountant. She was born in Nepal but we both got Canadian Citizenship later. Just after our marriage we learned about the POC and my wife applied. We continued to work overseas and in 2008 when my father had heart problems, she encouraged me for our entire family to move to Pakistan and we stayed there till 2010. By that time my father's health stabilized and then we moved again to Abu Dhabi. In 2009 she used her savings to buy a plot under her name so that we could build a home in Pakistan. We kept on traveling to Pakistan frequently from Abu Dhabi with children to see my parents. Last Eid ul Azha when we tried to renew her POC, it transpired that she could not get her POC card renewed due to the new policy. Government should earnestly look into this matter and re-institute the POC for foreign spouses.

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Rabia Sabri | 7 years ago | Reply I am an Afghan living in Pakistan for past 25 years married to a Pakistan nationla for past 12 years. I am proud mohter of 3 Pakistani children but still stranger to a country I love equally to my country. I have a property which I can not sell, can not have sim card on my name, can not have a bank account and I am in mercy of government to give me a visa for a year. It is very disappointing to have such policy,if Pakistan is not open to marring their nationals to other nationalites they should ban it by law but such acts are completely anacceptable. Thanks Tribune for raising this issue and I wish the ban can be lifted for benefit of all. Regards

AQ | 7 years ago | Reply I am a Pakistani foreign spouse of a non Pakistani national. I know how powerless I feel in a different society where I am considered an alien, non citizen & non existent! I cannot exercise some of my basic rights as a foreign spouse! This is a very wrong & short sighted move of Interior ministry & they should restore the issuance of POCs to foreign spouses immediately.

Es | 7 years ago | Reply Pakistan is now blocking rights of legitimate applicants who are foreign spouses. Such a law is basic violation of family rights. As long as they are law abiding foreign spouses should be legible for permanent residences and naturalization. Instead of blocking entry of legal foreign spouses. Govt and agencies should focus of blocking entry of militants, extremists and terrorists who have been easily able to manage to find refuge in the country over the recent decades.

Faisal | 7 years ago | Reply Govt should have only stopped the issuing of ID Cards to Indian citizens. Blanket bans like these are never a good idea.

avtar | 7 years ago | Reply Pakistan does not want its citizens to be denied visas or permanent resident status when in a similar situation.

Yahya | 7 years ago | Reply Power of Internet!!!!!

amjad hussain | 7 years ago | Reply Supreme Court has already taken NADRA to task on exorbitant fees for POC, both New Issue and Renewal. It should now take up Suo Moto action on behalf of all Foreign Spouses married to Pakistanis, especially as once the POC expires, all movable and immovable properties owned by the Foreign Spouse goes into a legal limbo. Perhaps a class action by all concerned should also be considered Amjad Hussain

Adnan S. Khan | 7 years ago | Reply Thanks to the author and Express Tribune for raising concern about foreign spouses. So many have been affected especially honest law abiding Filipinos here who are married to Pakistanis.

Aziz | 7 years ago | Reply @ Bashir Gul Sir, Kindly read the report again. It says spouses of Pakistani nationals. Pakistani law does not prohibit marrying Afghanis or any other nationality. Late Mr Bhutto's son/s were married to Afghan ladies. Please suggest solutions to this problem rather than making irrelevant and bigoted comments. I am a Pakistani spouse of a foreign national in a foreign country, and my right is fully protected. Let Pakistan not lag behind in this area and protect the human rights of people associated with our country by dint of marriage.

IBN E ASHFAQUE | 7 years ago | Reply @Reader: Beware the NIC can be cancelled by anybody on their whims...........the Government can only create more problem for law abiding citizens.......

NH | 7 years ago | Reply There is no justification in cancelling the once issued POC to foreign spouses. POC os a very good alternative to NIC to foreign spouses & children. The point is when a foreigner marries a Pakistani & opts to live here, he/she becomes part of the Pakistani family & society. They are not tourists or expat workers, they are here to live & blend with the culture of ours & be like one of us. They choose to leave their roots abroad & call Pakistan their home. We must provide them maximum facilities to make it easier for them to adopt our culture. Why should they not be given right to live their lives with their Pakistani families normally? Govt. should welcome foreign spouses & allow POC issuance & renewal immediately to lessen the miseries they are facing without it.

Reader | 7 years ago | Reply This is a bad decision. Is government's sole function is only to create problems for law abiding citizens?!

M M Malik | 7 years ago | Reply Spouses living in Pakistan for the last forty years and having immovable property and bank accounts are in a fix. This unfair policy must be revised immediately by the ministry of interior.

bashir gul | 7 years ago | Reply I am sure most of them will be Afghans. Good job by government. If they were born in Pakistan, then they have the right to POC.

higtala | 7 years ago | Reply I am married to a Pakistani. Pakistan Origin Card was most convenient for me as a Pakistani's wife. I am here in this country because of my husband. I am already a big part of Pakistan. My children grew up here, they studied, graduated, earned their degrees.I would be very grateful if the Pak Government could return issuance of the POC for foreign spouses.

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