Opposition parties flay govt's 'liberal visa policy' for Afghanistan
Amid government's boasting of its efforts in the ongoing evacuation from Kabul, the opposition parties expressed concerns over the 'liberal' visa policy adopted by the government, fearing infiltration of terrorists in the guise of transit passengers from Afghanistan.
Criticising the government for not taking the parliament and the opposition into confidence on the situation that emerged after the Aug 15 takeover of Kabul by the Taliban, the country's major opposition parties raised questions over the government's handling of the situation, stating that no one knows as to who is making decisions in this regard.
The opposition parties expressed concerns following reports that Pakistan was facilitating those Afghans and other foreigners who wanted to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of most parts of the country and disclosure by federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry during a news conference in Karachi that Pakistan had so far evacuated more than 4,400 people from Afghanistan and as many as 27,000 people had entered Pakistan from Chaman and Torkham borders.
A massive exodus from the war-torn neighbouring country is expected following the Aug 26 blast outside the airport in Kabul resulting in the deaths of over 150 people. Islamabad's administration had already reportedly taken control of all hotels in the capital for three weeks to arrange accommodation for foreigners being evacuated from Afghanistan. Security measures in and around the hotels have also been beefed up, with police and paramilitary personnel put on high alert. When most of the parties came out with a general reaction, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart Senator Raza Rabbani put specific questions before the government regarding its handling of the situation, particularly its visa policy for those entering the country from Afghanistan. "It is a matter of concern that the government till date has not taken the people or the parliament into confidence on the rapidly developing Afghan situation," said Mr Rabbani, adding that the matter of further concern for them is that the parliament has not been informed about the steps which the government has already taken or is taking in the wake of the emerging situation in Afghanistan, including granting of visas to those who wanted to leave the country.
Talking to Dawn, Mr Rabbani listed a number of questions which, according to him, the government needed to respond.
"What necessitated Pakistan being made a staging station for the exodus from Afghanistan?" he asked. The PPP senator also asked the government to disclose the nationalities of the people being granted visas to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan and also about the duration and the type of visa being issued to them? Mr Rabbani, who had also served as the Senate chairman, also asked the government to explain as to what safeguard measures it had taken to ensure that these people would leave Pakistan and would not mix with the local population.
More importantly, Mr Rabbani said the nation wanted to know as to what steps the government had taken to ensure that terrorists belonging to militant Islamic State (IS) group or Daesh did not infiltrate the country owing to this "liberal policy" of granting visas.
The PPP senator said these were basic questions and it was the right of every Pakistani to be informed about them as it would affect their lives and have a longterm bearing on the national security of the country.
In response to a question regarding the upcoming briefing of the members of three parliamentary committees by the military leadership on the Afghan situation at the army's GHQ on Monday (tomorrow), the PPP senator termed it "insufficient".