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Canadian minister meets Moin

RECORDER REPORT

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Interior Lt. Gen. Moin Uddin Haider (Retd) has said that the government was working fast on a programme to modernise its immigration system and issuance of passports and identity cards. He was talking to Ms. Janice Cochrane, Canadian Deputy Minister for Citizenship and immigration, here on Monday.

The minister said that National Data-Base Registration Authority, will undertake the task of issuing computerised and machine-readable passports and national identity cards to the citizens.

The exercise, he said, will minimise the misuse of Pakistani passport and identity documents by criminal elements.

The minister also told him an Alien Registration Authority has also been set up, which will collect and register the data about foreigners residing in Pakistan.

The Canadian deputy minister agreed to provide technical and training assistance to Pakistani immigration staff for the purpose of checking illegal immigration. On her suggestion, it was agreed that there would be continuous interaction between the immigration staff of the two countries on functional basis.