By Fazl is the man behind contention: Sh Rashid

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Shaikh Rashid Ahmed said Thursday that the JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is the real man behind contention between the government and opposition. “Fazlur Rehman is on top of the list of 20 persons facing serious security threat and I am warning him in this regard. Those who warned Benazir Bhutto in past had to face cases but, I warn him to be careful,” the minister said while talking to media persons after visiting the office of Directorate General Immigration and Passport.

The minister also asked Fazlur Rehman to have mercy on politics, democracy of the country and also on himself. He termed the JUI-F chief the real planner who wants to create anarchy and exploit the students of religious seminaries by bringing them to Islamabad.

Shaikh Rashid said that PPP would politically play better as the PML-N is being used by Maulana Fazlur Rehman at this stage. While predicting that the opposition parties will contest Senate polls, he said that there was no chance that lawmakers of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will resign from the assemblies before these elections.

To a question regarding possible visit of Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia and validity of his passport, the minister said he did not know about its expiry date.

About the MQM-P reservations on census results, the minister said the party was a coalition partner of the government, and hoped that differences will be resolved. He also announced extension of passport validity from five years to 10 years without any additional fee aimed at facilitating the country's labour community working abroad especially in Middle East countries.

Shaikh Rashid said new passport will be issued at the previous fee of Rs3,000 and this decision will be implemented from January 01, 2021. He clarified that the decision would not be applicable on 'official and red' passports; as the facility was only meant for Pakistan's labour class.

The minister said a new e-passport would be launched from April 28 next year and it would help maintain data on modern lines and improve the country's image.

To a question, the minister said the visa process for the Chinese engineers working on different projects of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would be made easier.

He said necessary directives had been issued to review the existing Exit Control List (ECL), adding that as many as 66,000 people were on the black list of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and 44,000 on the Passport Department's list. “I had been made in-charge of the committee looking into the ECL-related matters,” he informed.

He said that performance of attached departments of Interior Ministry would be improved within 120 days as the prime minister has also given him this deadline.