Islamabad, July 14, 2023 (Online): The National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs expressed strong concerns over alleged corruption in visa process for Afghan citizens.
In the last meeting the Committee asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and FIA to furnish reports on the loopholes in the visa processes.
The Committee Chairman MNA Mohsin Dawar, on the absence of any reports desired, expressed grave concern and questioned the rationale for non-submission of such report.
The Chairman stated that fragmentation of the mandate in visa issuance and non-presentation of the reports to the Parliament is tantamount to hiding corrupt practices in the visa processes.
The Committee once again directed the concerned agencies to furnish the aforesaid reports within two days.
The concerned ministries maintained that visa approval was subject to clearance from the security agencies and assured that a report in this regard would be furnished to the Committee at the earliest. Reference recent visit of a Parliamentary delegation to China, the Committee instructed the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek explanation from Pakistan’s ambassador to China who reportedly didn’t even bother to meet or facilitate the Parliamentary delegation in China. The members expressed that the delegation had high level important meetings with the Chinese officials and business leaders in the absence of any support or facilitation from the Pakistan embassy officials.
The members of the Committee desired that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may brief the Committee on Greece migrant boat disaster and the efforts undertaken for Pakistani citizens onboard. The Chair of the Committee sought a report from the Ministry of Interior on human smuggling and the institutional efforts and initiatives undertaken to prevent it. The Standing Committee also directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present a complete report on Online attestation of power of attorney.
Besides Hon. Chairman MNA Mohsin Dawar, MNA Mr. Muhammad Khan Daha, MNA Ms Maiza Hameed, MNA Mr. Muhammad Abu Bakar, MNA Dr . Eamesh Kumar Vankwani and MNA Ms Mehnaz Akbar Aziz, MNAs were also present in the meeting.
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