Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has ruled out a long-term presence in Pakistan of those US troops who are coming from Afghanistan, saying that the foreigners who will stay in the country had been issued transit visas ranging from 21 to 30 days.
He rejected the assertion that Pakistan was set to return to the Musharraf era and chided the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s chief for his claim that the government was booking hotels for Americans in the federal capital.
Answering a question, he said as many as 2,192 individuals had entered Pakistan from the Torkham border while 1,627 had come to Islamabad by air. A small number of people had come from the Chaman border, he added.
Mr Ahmad clarified that many people travelled between Pakistan and Afghanistan through the Chaman border on a daily basis. Many Afghans entered Pakistan from this border and returned to their country, he said, adding that it was “a normal activity”.
