NA Question-Hour: No case of fake passport issued to non-Pakistani reported

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) was informed on Thursday that no case has been reported with regard to issuance of fake passports to any non-Pakistani citizen.

Answering a question during the Question-Hour in the National Assembly on Thursday, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said a passport is issued after proper verification process. He said the verification mechanism involves compatibility with the Nadra data such as Family Registration Certificate to check any loopholes.

In reply to a question of Sharmila Farouqi who asked about the steps taken by the government to ensure transparent operations, judicial oversight and mechanism for accountability within the new National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), the information minister said the NCCIA would be made fully functional within the next two months after the formal appointment of its chairman and officers of different cadres and the process was underway.

While responding to the query of Sharmila Faruqui pertaining to increasing cybercrimes across the country and alleged dysfunctional NCCIA mandated to take such violations to task, Tarar said the agency was not lying idle as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s Cyber Crime Wing is serving in the NCCIA till the appointment of its chairman and officers at the body.

He informed the House the rules were promulgated whereas only the appointment was remaining. The Act has not been suspended, rather new rules have been formed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 or PECA Act 2016.

He said the Lahore incident was perpetrated by a political party to instigate violence among students. The FIA is already investigating cybercrime related complaints whereas no application from the provincial government has been received so far regarding the Lahore incident.

In reply to a question of Zartaj Gul seeking details of Pakistanis who have left the country since April 2022 till now, Minister for Overseas Pakistani and Human Resource Development Chaudhry Salik Hussain told the National Assembly that the ministry only maintains migrant workers registered through BE&OE and OEC. He said around 1,925,424 Pakistani intending emigrants have been registered by BE&OE since April, 2022 till 31-08-2024.

The National Assembly was told that during the same period (from 1st April, 2022 to 31st August, 2024), 7,075 people went abroad for employment through the Overseas Employment Corporation. It is stated that the age bracket for seeking foreign employment is between 18 and 42 (as per the requirement of CoD’s foreign employers). However, for certain job categories, the age relaxation for visa endorsement for new entrants is more than this.

The National Assembly was informed that migrant workers fall within the youth category of the working population.

To another question of Mehtab Akbar Rashdi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told the National Assembly that the total earning of the state-owned TV is Rs18,389.002 million and its total expenditure is Rs18,112.225 million as on 30.06.2024. Some 22 individuals were employed on contract in PTVC during the caretaker setup and 88 individuals have been hired on contract in PTVC after the general elections 2024 till date.