By Irfan Bukhari
DOHA: The Pakistan Embassy in collaboration with community leaders has stepped up efforts to reap maximum results from the ongoing amnesty for illegal residents in Qatar.
Talking to The Peninsula, Rizwan Manzoor, Welfare Counselor at Pakistan Embassy said that so far he had not witnessed any influx of cases demanding temporary extension in their long-expired passports.
“We usually give a 45-day extension in the passport so that such people can travel to Pakistan. But on this extension they can only travel to Pakistan, the home country and no where else. Some cases have appeared in the last three weeks for the emergency extension in passport since this amnesty was introduced but yet we have not observed any visible influx,” he said, adding that the embassy was playing its due role to convince illegal residents through community leaders to avail the amnesty to avoid future legal consequences.
A travel document issued by the embassy in case a valid passport is not available is one of the requirements for illegal residents to avail of the amnesty. “We are trying our best to spread the message and convince illegal Pakistani residents to avail the offer without procrastination,” said Tahir Chaudhry, Secretary-General, Pakistan Welfare Forum.
“In the first place, no one should stay here illegally. We give this message to all people coming from Pakistan. But in case anyone is residing here illegally, he should avail of the amnesty scheme,” Tahir added.
When asked about the rough number of Pakistani expats living illegally in Qatar, Tahir Chaudhry, who has also been the founding president of Pakistan Youth Society, replied: “We do not have any such figures.”
A Pakistani worker told The Peninsula that most of the illegal residents from Pakistan and other countries as well were living in Industrial Area neighbourhood. “I have met some illegal residents there who work on lower wages. But as far as I know and according to my interactions with such illegal residents, they are set to avail the opportunity to avoid future consequences,” he said. “We are also tracing people who are living here illegally and convincing them to avail the scheme,” said Janan Bangesh, another community leader.
DOHA: The Ministry of Interior has extended the working hours of its Search and Follow Up Department for amnesty seekers for two hours to serve more cases. The new timing is from 12 (noon) to 8 pm on all working days from Sunday to Thursday, the Ministry tweeted yesterday. The three-month amnesty took effect on September 1 and will end on December 1.
