Due to red-tapism at Immigration and Passport (I&P) Directorate, hundreds of Pakistanis, who earn precious foreign exchange for the country have been blacklisted, owing to possession of dual passports and also have applied for the same or going abroad without visas. They are running from pillar to post for removal of their names from the blacklist.
"The I&P directorate has placed the names of hundreds of people on blacklist for the last many years owing to various reasons due of which hundreds of Pakistanis, who earn foreign exchange for the country, are facing hardships," said MNA Sher Akbar Khan while speaking at a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control Tuesday.
He said that many of the blacklisted people had valid visas and wanted to go abroad for employment to support their families and give them better education but due to red-tapism of I&P Directorate they are unable to go abroad. The committee which met with Rana Shamim Ahmad Khan in chair asked Ministry of Interior to make concrete efforts to resolve the problems of people whose names were on the blacklist.
Additional Secretary Ministry of Interior informed the committee that the names of around 20,000 people are presently on the blacklist and he requested the chairman of the committee to hold a separate meeting to resolve the issue. The committee also directed the Ministry of Interior to consult - The Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2014: Amendment of section 55, act XLV of 1860 and the Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Act, 2014 with the relevant departments within a week and submit a detailed report to the committee next meeting.
Shaista Pervaiz Malik MNA mover of The Criminal Law Amendment Bill, 2014: Amendment of section 55, act XLV of 1860 bill said rape is a physical and psychological attack on a woman's dignity, body and her mental well-being, integrity and privacy, and affects her ability to function in society. "Rape is an attack on critical public values, which undermines the social and moral fabric of a community, and therefore mandates the mobilisation of the state protective and condemnatory forces," she said.
She said that section 375 and 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), 1860 defined the offence of rape and prescribed punishment for commission but the law does not take account of aggravating circumstances in the commission of the offence that logically command stronger censure, the age of the victim, or causing grievous injury to her person, she said.
Shaista said that the law makes no provision for the social sufferings and ostracism that a rape victim may be subject to magnified further through wide publication regarding commission of the offence. The proposed amendment is according to the constitution of Pakistan and international human rights and mandatory to meet the challenges in the investigation and prosecution of rape cases, she said.
Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak mover of the Islamabad Rent Restriction (Amendment) Act, 2014 said that according to the amended bill every agreement between landlord and tenant should be presented before the controller for record keeping. Under the amended bill the dispute resolution between the landlord and renter should be through a mediation council to be presided by the President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce or his nominee. A representative of the tenant and the landlord will both constitute members of the council. The controller before proceeding with the case shall refer it to the mediation council in case of no settlement; the controller shall proceed with the case. In case of a settlement, the order passed by the controller in accordance with the decision of the mediation council shall be considered final. MNA Ghalib Khan, Syed Iftikhar ul Hassan, Nauman Islam Shaikh, Syed Asif Husnain and senior officials of the Ministry of Interior attended the meeting.
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