Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Pakistan’s interior minister, announced on Thursday that the government has decided to register all foreigners in the country.
“The interior ministry has decided to register all foreigners [in the nation], whomever they may be,” he told the reporters in Islamabad.
He said that some people who were creating false Afghan identification cards have been apprehended, and that “our endeavour would be to register every foreigner amid the current scenario [in the nation].”
“We don’t know about their locations,” the interior minister stated, adding that 40,000 to 50,000 unidentified persons have entered the nation in the previous 70 years.
Foreigners residing in Pakistan would be given “alien cards,” which will allow them to create bank accounts, start businesses, get cell phones, and travel more easily, according to Rashid.
Foreigners who want to keep using these services after their visa expires should notify the interior ministry, he said.
According to the interior minister, all visa applications have been changed to an online format, and visas are given within 30 days with Cabinet approval.
“The applications are reviewed by agencies, and if they don’t reply within 30 days, we grant the visas,” he continued.
“Chaman border will be made electronic from the first [of August],” Rashid stated of border administration.
He claimed the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has given clearance to open the gate for vaccinated persons, referring to the 4,000-5,000 Pakistanis stuck at the Torkham border.
“Those who test positive [for Covid-19] will be dealt with by the NCOC and FC (Frontier Corps),” stated the interior minister.
In response to a query on the outlawed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, Ahmed stated that the matter will be presented to the Cabinet this week for decision.
The interior minister also discussed the impending elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, predicting the PTI’s victory and casting doubt on the opposition’s capacity to win.