ISLAMABAD, Nov 27 (NNI): Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Wednesday no Afghan citizens would be allowed to live in federal capital of Islamabad after December 31 unless they were issued a special certificate by the district administration.
Talking to media persons in Islamabad, the Interior Minister said any Afghan citizen, who intends to stay in ICT after December this year, would have to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Deputy Commissioner Office.
“If Afghans want to live here, they need a No Objection Certificate from the Deputy Commissioner’s office. But after December 31, no Afghan citizen can live in Islamabad without an NOC,” he remarked.
Responding to a question, the minister said most roads had been opened and routine life in Islamabad restored.
Naqvi rejected the ongoing propaganda of killings during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protest in Islamabad, saying no policeman was equipped with a pistol.
“I have been asking to share the names of those killed in the protests but there is no response from the other side,” he said.
They should share evidence, if any, of deaths during protest, he said.
The minister said he would share the data of the tear gas shells fired by the protesters on law enforcers. “We are ready if they [PTI] want to come again,” he dared PTI.
Islamabad Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa has warned that no one will be allowed to challenge the writ of the state and law.
Addressing a joint news conference, Islamabad IGP Ali Nasir Rizvi and Chief Commissioner Randhawa announced that all routes of the federal capital Islamabad had been cleared.
They disclosed that demonstrators including Afghan nationals staged a protest in the capital despite the fact that the Belarusian delegation was visiting Pakistan.
The chief commissioner revealed that Afghan nationals were apprehended and said the state writ must be maintained. He said data of Afghan nationals would be verified and only those possessing the NOCs would be allowed to live in the federal capital.
They mentioned that they offered the PTI to stage a protest at Sangjani and a mechanism of filing an application to the district administration had to be considered for a peaceful protest.
They stated that the PTI insisted on protesting at D-Chowk where protesters were carrying weapons.
The IGP and the chief commissioner stated that tear gas shells and bullets were fired on the police and Rangers personnel, green belts and trees burnt, CCTV cameras broken and metro bus stations vandalised.
He said more than 200 vehicles were impounded and weapons of different sorts including pistols and Kalashnikovs were recovered from the protesters.
The IGP said search operation was still continuing and warned that terrorism would not be allowed under the guise of protest.
There was a clear distinction between protest and terrorism but how could this be a peaceful protest where police and Rangers were attacked, he added.
Authorities began expelling illegal foreigners from Nov. 1, 2023, following a spike in bombings which the Pakistan government says were carried out by Afghan nationals or by militants who cross over into Pakistan from neighboring Afghanistan. NNI
