ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that there were five foreign nationals on death row in the country.

During question hour, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad stated on behalf of the interior minister that four foreign nationals had been sentenced to death in Punjab and one in Sindh, while one such prisoner had already been executed in Punjab.

The house was told that according to data provided by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in response to a question by Ms Belum Hasnain, 406,072 foreigners currently resided in Pakistan.

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The minister also explained the procedure regarding deportation of illegal immigrants living in Pakistan. He said that such individuals were deported to their countries origin by home department on the orders of the Federal Review Board of the Supreme Court, in coordination with the ministries of interior, foreign affairs, Pakistan’s high commissions abroad and the embassies and high commissions concerned in Pakistan.

The deportees, he said, had to manage air fare and other expenses on their own, or through their relatives via their respective embassies. However, the ministry of interior does have limited funds to help deport illegal immigrants on the recommendation of the Federal Review Board and that there was no proposal to provide funds to the FIA in this regard.

Answering another question, the minister confirmed that 116 employees of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) had been terminated for issuing computerised national identity cards to Afghan nationals.

The house was told that inquiries were conducted against 372 Nadra employees found involved in various activities during the last five years and 116 among them were dismissed from service.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2015

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