Govt puts names of 4,300 beggars on ECL

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has put the names of 4,300 beggars on the Exit Control List (ECL).

Deputy Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia had a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday. Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Nawaf bin Saeed Ahmed Al Maliki was also present in the meeting.

Matters of mutual interest and promotion of Pak-Saudi relations were discussed while issues of mutual exchange of paramilitary forces, police and joint training were also discussed.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi proposed to declare Islamabad and Riyadh as twin cities to which the Saudi minister agreed. It was decided that further necessary steps will be taken on this issue.

There was a discussion on the crackdown on the mafia that sends beggars from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. The interior minister said that names of 4,300 beggars have been included in the ECL and there was a zero tolerance policy against beggars going to Saudi Arabia. Mohsin Naqvi said that an effective crackdown was being done across the country against the beggar mafia.

In the meeting, the two countries agreed to implement the prisoner exchange agreement and, in this regard, the interior minister said that the legal process for the return of 419 Pakistani prisoners in Saudi Arabia will be completed soon. “Saudi Arabia is our brotherly Islamic country and will do everything possible to promote bilateral cooperation,” he said.

He said that there was no visa for Saudi citizens to come to Pakistan and they can come whenever they want. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the vision 2030 of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, and said that under the current leadership, Saudi Arabia will achieve a prominent position in the world in economic, social and economic fields by 2030.

The deputy Saudi minister of interior said that Saudi Arabia has very close relations with Pakistan and wants to further develop them and was ready for mutual exchange and joint training of paramilitary forces and police.