Special powers of envoy to US withdrawn in 2014

ISLAMABAD: Special powers granted by the previous PPP government to Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani to skirt security protocols while issuing visas to American nationals had been withdrawn in 2014, the interior ministry said on Monday.

It said in a statement that the interior ministry had withdrawn the letter sent by former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in 2010 on the instructions of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in 2014. The statement was issued after a high-level meeting chaired by Nisar.



The interior minister also directed the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) to set up a centralised digital databank for issuing visas to all foreigners through Pakistan’s diplomatic missions abroad.

The mechanism, he said, would help foreigners secure an online visa appointment for any category. At the same time, it will bring transparency and clarity in the system.

The meeting was also attended by the interior secretary, NADRA’s chairman and other senior officers of the ministry.

Nisar said the centralised visa issuance mechanism would help the state keep a check on all foreign visitors travelling to Pakistan.

A lot has been done over the past three years to ensure that no alien enters Pakistan without proper documentation, he said, adding that documents submitted by visa applicants should be duly verified. Urging NADRA to quickly develop such a system, he said there was absolutely no room for irregularities.

The meeting also discussed the future of the interior ministry’s Air Wing post-2017. Nisar said the ministry’s air cover was crucial for combatting terrorism, militancy, extremism, and drug trafficking along the most sensitive areas of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, especially Balochistan.

The ministry was ordered to prepare an action plan in an effort to ensure the air wing’s continuous support to domestic security agencies post-2017.

The interior minister also barred NADRA from obtaining buildings on rent, besides refraining from purchasing land at commercial rates for setting up its offices. He also ordered NADRA to review rates allowed to private contractors for renovating major NADRA centres.



The interior minister also asked NADRA to submit suggestions for new rules within a week for ensuring greater transparency in hiring private contractors. He said NADRA should approach all provincial governments for purchasing land for establishing its offices at government rates. “This is necessary in view of financial wrongdoings in the past in this regard,” he said.

The National Technology Limited, a software company set up by NADRA, was also closed down on orders of the interior minister.  Nisar said the NTL had become the source of financial misappropriation. Despite NTL’s closure, NADRA will honour all its international commitments. “Necessary laws will be amended to enable NADRA to honour all its international obligations and contracts,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2017.