Govt to start dealing with ‘long march’ challenge from tomorrow: Rashid

RAWALPINDI: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Saturday claimed that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of 11 opposition parties, has decided to take part in the Senate and upcoming by-elections in its meeting held at Jati Umrah. "They were just deceiving the public otherwise the opposition has decided to take part in the Senate and by-elections, and will stage a march," he said, while talking to media persons at the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) office at Rawalpindi. He said that the government would start its preparations for dealing with opposition’s long march from Monday next.

He said that he had recently visited Peshawar and would soon visit Lahore. "We will adopt our strategy according to their (opposition’s) action,” he said.

He said that Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari under the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari had played good politics but Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was acting irresponsibly.

The minister said that PM Imran Khan would not give the opposition an NRO.

"The sun can rise from the west, and set in the east but Imran Khan will not give them an NRO,” he said.

Rashid said that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s passport would expire on February 16, and the government would not extend it. When asked whether Sharif had any application for renewal of his passport, he said that so far he had not received such an application. He said that the federal government had sent the case of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Mufti Kifayatullah to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, and in future FIRs would be registered against those people who use derogatory remarks against the Pakistan army.

He said that currently 1.5 million Afghan refugees were living legally in Pakistan but government has started looking at the around 800,000 Afghan citizens who are living illegally.

Government has blocked CNIC of 200,000 Afghanis.

The minister said that online visa facility has been provided for 192 countries. As many as 200,000 applications were received in a day for online visa, he said. He said that 300 mobile vans would be deputed to provide CNICs to people in far-flung areas. Fifty centres of the Nadra will work for 24 hours, he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021