SIALKOT: Federal Minister for Defence, Water and Power Khwaja Muhammad Asif has said a proposal is actively being considered for early repatriation of at least three million Afghan refugees to Afghanistan as their presence is creating problems for Pakistan.

He stated this while talking to different delegations here on Sunday. Local MPAs Chaudhry Arshad Javaid Warraich, Chaudhry Muhammad Ikram, Manshaullah Butt, Chaudhry Tariq Akhtar Subhani, Gull Naz Pasha, PML-N’s Women Wing Sialkot president Nusrat Jamshaid Malik and PML-N’s Youth Wing district president Muhammad Farooq Ghuman were also present.

The federal minister said that relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan were passing through a crucial stage.

He said the early repatriation of Afghan refugees was in the larger interest of both countries.

He said Pakistan was trying to ensure implementation of international border laws at the Pak-Afghan border as well.

Mr Asif asked Afghanistan to end the blame game and as a good neighbor abide by international border laws at the Pak-Afghan border.

He said that PTI chief Imran Khan had been leveling baseless charges of corruption on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the last three years, but he was unable to prove even a single corruption charge.

He accused Imran Khan of investing abroad the charity funds of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH).

The federal minister said the prime minister would return to Pakistan two or three days after Eidul Fitr.

CASES ORDERED: The Anti Corruption Establishment (ACE) ordered on Sunday the registration of separate corruption cases against three accused patwaris, an education official and a police constable

Gujranwala’s ACE divisional director Rana Abdul Shakoor said that the probe found patwaris Hamid Yar, Muhammad Afzal (Sialkot district), patwari Khurram Siddique (Narowal district), education department’s assistant Muhammad Younas and constable Zulfiqar Ali guilty of charges.

The ACE also ordered the early arrest of another patwari Saeed Butt for his involvement in several corruption cases, he said.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2016