ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior has planned to review standard operating procedures (SOPs) of visa extension to facilitate applicants, and to easily identify those who overstay in the country.

"We were going to completely make visa extension online and Ministry of Interior has asked National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to complete this job," said a senior official of the Ministry of Interior, while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior.

He said that the review of SOPs of visa extension would not only facilitate the applicants but also our agencies to have advance information about those who overstay in the country.

The committee, which met with MNA Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, discussed in detail, "The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Section-292) moved by MNA Amjad Ali, and passed it unanimously.

Secretary Ministry of Interior Yousaf Naseem Khokhar told the committee that the proposed amendment bill had been introduced to enhance punishment to serve as an effective deterrent against sale and distribution of obscene materials in the country.

As per the mover, although the sale and distribution of obscene materials has been prohibited under the law yet the quantum of lesser punishment is not creating an effective prevention, he said. He said that his ministry forwarded the amendment bill to relevant stakeholders.

In response, Government of Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration have supported the bill. The response of Government of Punjab, Balochistan government, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is awaited, he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020