Aliens need to leave as Pakistan not international orphanage, says federal minister

Hyderabad: Caretaker Federal Education Minister Madad Ali Sindhi has said Pakistan is not an international orphanage and the foreigners living in the country must go back.

He made these remarks while talking to the media at the Sindh Museum in Hyderabad on Sunday. In response to a question, he said the country had been enduring the problem of Afghans refugees for 40 years. Whoever came to Pakistan tore the passport of their country and started living here illegally, he added.

Sindhi asked whether any foreigner could stay in Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates or France without a passport. He asked the people to support the caretaker government if it was doing a good job. He said those opposing the caretaker government’s actions could approach courts and the government was bound to obey court orders.

Asserting that the deportation of illegal foreigners was a right step taken by the interim government, the federal minister asked the political parties to support the move. He added that he would talk to the relevant authorities about the lack of action against illegal immigrants in Sindh.

Sindhi said the Pakistani government was giving scholarships to more than 4,000 Afghani students in various universities, but those who were illegally residing in the country needed to go back.

Discussing the state of education in Sindh, he said that education was a provincial subject after the passage of the 18th Amendment. He, however, added that he had come to know about the unavailability of textbooks in Sindh and would discuss the issue with the provincial authorities.

He said new technological institutes had been imparting skills to youths and an institution in Saudi Arabia held technical tests of such youths who could get work visa there if they passed that test.

Sindhi was of the view that education was given less attention by the previous governments due to which educational problems had increased. He said the performance of education boards that conducted the exams was questionable.

During his visit to Hyderabad, the caretaker federal education minister inaugurated an assessment centre for skills at the Government Technical College, Wahdat Colony, and Mumtaz Mirza Auditorium at the Sindh Museum. He also inspected a certificate distribution ceremony and exhibition for students taking courses under the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission.