ISLAMABAD: Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced on Friday that the interior ministry was prepared to waive normal procedural requirements in order to facilitate Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain in obtaining a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP).

Addressing a press conference at his office, the interior minister said the government had no objections if Mr Hussain wanted to obtain a NICOP or a Pakistani passport after nearly two decades of living abroad.

Chaudhry Nisar told reporters that an official of the National Database and Registration Authority in London was sent to Mr Hussain’s residence by then-high commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan. This facility, he said, was only available under special circumstances and even then, at least four personnel, including Nadra staff and a bank official, had to be on hand for biometric verification and other procedures.

He added that a personal detail form, which Mr Hussain had been asked to fill out when his request was lodged, was issued after office hours, in contravention of the rules, on April 4.

But since the form had not been returned within the stipulated 30-day period, the database automatically deleted records of Mr Hussain’s request.

He said such facilities were not usually provided to individuals at their doorsteps and mobile registration was meant for deployment at community centres with large caseloads. “I do not know who has the form; Altaf Hussain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan or the Nadra officer, but the data was never uploaded,” he remarked.

Chaudhry Nisar said he had told Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad and MQM MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi that the government wanted to resolve the matter, but stressed that threats would not work.

He said the Interior Ministry was ready to waive Nadra rules and send a team to Mr Hussain’s Edgware Road residence in London to collect details and initiate the process to get him a NICOP. However, the minister did not say whether a similar facility will be extended to the MQM leader when he wishes to obtain a passport.

Talking about the ongoing operation in Karachi, Chaudhry Nisar said action would continue until normalcy was restored in the city. He said the operation was about to enter a pivotal phase and that a consultation with the provincial government to decide on a timetable and priorities for the operation would be held in the next few days.

Dismissing concerns that the number of Taliban militants and terrorists in Karachi had increased, he said, “There are pockets of terrorists here and there, but there is no serious threat”.

Taliban talks

The interior minister told the press briefing that the government was making fresh efforts to revive the stalled peace process with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and said a positive development was forthcoming.

Chaudhry Nisar said that the safety of vaccinators working in Waziristan will be on top of the agenda during the next round of direct talks.

This statement comes nearly two weeks after the interior minister observed that talks with Taliban cannot continue amidst unnecessary rhetoric from negotiating committee members. This second wind is believed to have been prompted by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s wishes to give peace another chance.

He said that despite a six-week lull in the talks, behind-the-scenes contacts continued, adding that the schedule for the next round of talks was to be finalised by the Taliban.

He dismissed the idea that US Secretary of State William J. Burns had tried to convince him to launch a military operation in Waziristan and assured reporters that Pakistan’s policy would always be dictated by national interest and not by any external power.

He also denied reports of a drone strike on Pakistani territory, saying that, “Neither the target of the drone was on this side (of the border), nor did (the strike) cause any damage inside Pakistan”.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2014