Islamabad, November 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):The meeting was chaired by Senator Farooq Hamid Naek. Attendees included Senator Palwasha Muhammad Zai Khan, Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Senator Mehr Taj Roghani, Senator Tahir Bizenjo, Senator Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, Senator Danesh Kumar, Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi and senior officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Passport and Immigration along with all concerned.
Matters taken up entailed announcement of new travel conditions by Pakistan Consulate, Dubai, UAE; breach of privilege during Senator Danesh Kumar’s visit to Bangkok; problems faced by overseas Pakistanis in Gulf States; illegal detention of Ulemas in Occupied Kashmir and the latest position of detained Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik; problems faced by Pakistanis in Rwanda.
The meeting commenced with a briefing on the new travel conditions by Pakistan Consulate, Dubai, UAE, and the Committee was appraised on the issue of holding more than one passport by Pakistani nationals. Deliberating over the matter of action taken against Pakistanis who were sent back to Pakistan from the UAE; the Committee was informed that these were sporadic incident that were not linked together. The main reason for the visitors being sent back was that they did not fulfil the criteria set by the UAE government.
The Committee was further informed that it was found that the return ticket that is a prerequisite for travel to the UAE was a dummy. The Chairman Committee showed grave concern regarding this and further said that such incidents defaming the image of our Country and the Foreign Office must take strict action and ensure strict check on these issues.
Regarding breach of privilege during Senator Danesh Kumar’s visit to Bangkok, the Committee was informed that the Ambassador and other responsible officer of Embassy of Pakistan at Thailand had already apologized. The Committee stressed that the Foreign Office must ensure that incidents of this sort must not be repeated.
Discussing problems faced by overseas Pakistanis in Gulf States, the matter was considered in detail by the Committee and it was noted that the response submitted by the Ministry was in general. This was due to the generality of the question. The matter was disposed of; however, the mover is free to ask another question any time that is more specific and focused in nature.
While being briefed on illegal detention of Ulemas in Occupied Kashmir and the latest position of detained Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik, the Committee was provided details of the efforts being made by the Foreign Office in this regard. The entire Committee was of the view that Foreign Office put more efforts in order to get positive and effective international response and also stressed the need for Pakistan to be economically and politically strong to be heard internationally. The matter related to problems faced by Pakistanis in Rwanda was deferred and will be taken up in the next meeting and DG (FIA) will be called for comprehensive briefing.
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