I WOULD like to bring to the attention of your readers the fact that the interior ministry has decided not to renew the Pakistan Origin Card (POC) of foreign spouses and dependants of Pakistani residents here.

The government had introduced the POC and the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP), along with the CNIC. While the NICOP was issued to persons of Pakistani origin residing abroad, the POC was issued to those persons of foreign origin married to Pakistanis.

According to the rules, POC holders were afforded the same rights as Pakistani nationals except the right to vote and the right to have a Pakistani passport. These rights included visa-free entry into the country as well as the right to conduct business and to own property in Pakistan.

Suddenly without warning and without announcing an alternative solution, the interior ministry instructed Nadra not to renew POC’s which had a validity of seven years that had expired.

I was married to a British national in 1997 and had to renew her stay with husband visa every year until the advent of the POC.

My wife was able to travel in and out of the country at ease and eventually started a school here. Obviously she has an NTN number and has paid taxes for the past seven years since the school has been in existence.

In August she received a letter from her bank stating that her POC was about to expire and that she would have to renew it and submit a copy of the new card to the bank. When I approached the Nadra office, I was informed that expired POC’s weren’t to be renewed because of a directive from the interior ministry.

This created many problems for my wife as she could not run a business on a stay with husband visa. I approached the office of the director-general of Immigration, who solved the problem by issuing her a business visa valid for one year. But according to a stamp on her visa, she has to inform the police every time she travels outside Karachi.

I can understand the reasons for the interior ministry to issue such a directive because of the misuse of identity documents. But the powers that be should have considered the effect their decision would have on those who have legitimate right to be in this country and who are making a positive contribution to Pakistani society.

As she is a British subject, my wife can apply for dual citizenship, but the office of the director-general of Immigration has informed me that the citizenship process takes between five and seven years.

I, therefore, urge the interior ministry to either restore the POC for such persons or to come up with an alternative solution.

MOHSIN RAZA KHANKarachi