Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Monday directed all officials of the interior ministry to strictly implement immigration regulations and ordered an immediate suspension of visas granted "under the guise of landing permits".

Chairing a high-level meeting in Islamabad, the minister said that though "a lot of good work" has been done on the immigration front as well as in matters related to the issuance of visas, the system still needs to be streamlined further and have "various lacunas" removed from it.

"Laxity [regarding the issuance of visas] cannot be allowed in this manner as it can give rise to serious irregularities," Nisar said.

"Indifference to this responsibility or lackluster approach in addressing the problems of the people will invite serious notice and action," the minister added.

The interior minister further ordered the concerned departments "to revise and update the visa rules" besides introducing "an online visa regime so as to bring in transparency, minimise discretion and expedite the entire process".

Nisar said that an online visa application and online visa regime could effectively eliminate anomalies that arise in the process of issuing visas.

He further said that a "central visa database is essential as it would enable state institutions to keep a tab on all people travelling to Pakistan under any visa category".

The minister also reiterated the need to separate the immigration and border management wing from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), saying that the FIA is "primarily tasked with the investigation of white-collar crimes".

Read more: Chaudhry Nisar calls for separation of immigration department from FIA

Addressing the officials working on drafting a comprehensive strategy paper to establish an immigration and border management department, Nisar said the body would strengthen authorities in monitoring all entry and exit points through air, sea and land routes.

The high-level meeting was also attended by the secretary interior, National Database Registration Authority chairman, the advocate general, chief commissioner of the Islamabad Capital Territory, Islamabad's acting inspector general of police, and senior officers from the Federal Investigation Agency and the Ministry of Interior.