Ridiculing the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM), an opposition parties’ alliance, decision to set out on a long march towards Islamabad four months from now, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Wednesday said actually these parties wanted to buy time to muster masses’ support, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Addressing a function at Passport Office in Islamabad, he asked the PDM leaders to change the date of their proposed march from March 23 (Pakistan Day) to March 30. 

He said he did not think that former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif would return to Pakistan. “And if he exhibits any intention, the government will provide him with travel documents in a day,” he added.

The interior minister informed that the decision to put Rana Shamim’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL) would be taken at the ministry’s meeting. However, the government has put his name on the PNLI 

He further said that the term of a passport had been extended from five years to 10 years and the fee had also been halved on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s directives.  

Rasheed said there was a practice in the country of giving relief to the corrupt individuals as well as companies because they were very powerful. 

He further said that he had ordered that the officers posted at foreign missions for the last eight to 10 years, and had got nationalities of those countries, should be sacked today, and new officers posted in their place. 

He said the government was providing online passport services in 191 countries of the world. “It is my desire that Pakistan issues Asia’s first e-passport within 100 days,” the minister said.