Govt to tighten noose around tricksters of real estate sector: Zulfi Bukhari
Islamabad: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari Friday said the government would launch a complete crackdown against the illegal housing societies that played different tricks to hoodwink the expatriates by promising fake investment opportunities in real estate sector.
“Prime Minister, in a recent meeting of National Coordination Committee on Construction, has stressed the need for evolving a mechanism which can protect the overseas Pakistanis from tricksters of real estate sector, who trap innocent overseas Pakistanis through fake promotional campaigns on digital media,” he told the media persons.
Zulfikar Bukhari said the government, in consultation with regional land development authorities and other relevant departments, would soon introduce new laws to define rules for the real estate sector for advertisement of their products.
He also hinted at materialization of his ministry’s initiative of setting up the first-ever fast-track court in the federal capital. “The establishment of fast-track in Islamabad is in near future,” he added.
The SAPM said the court, once established, would decide the matters related to land disputes of overseas Pakistanis within some days. Land related issues were the major cause of concern for the expats, he added.
He also inaugurated the Machine Readable Passport (MRP) facility at the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) headquarters (HQs) to facilitate expats and their families back at home.
The MRP facility is an addition to the already set up desks of the OPF Membership Card, Foreign Exchange Remittance Card (FERC), NADRA Swift Center and Complaint Resolution System.
Commenting over the MRP facility, Zulfikar Bukhari said the present management of the ministry was committed to take such initiatives which would ensure welfare of the overseas Pakistanis and their families.
“Now the overseas Pakistanis will get all the essential services including OPF membership card, NICOP (National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis) and FERC under one roof as the OPF office has been transformed into one window facility,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, the OPF issued a news release to highlight key features of the MRP facility.
According to the foundation, the facility was set up by the OPF in collaboration with Directorate General of Immigration & Passports (DGIP).
With the establishment of MRP facility, the overseas Pakistanis will now be able to apply/renew their passports in addition to the existing facilities provided by OPF under one roof, which includes OPF Membership Card, FERC, NADRA Swift Center, Complaints Resolution System. The initiative was in line with the vision of the Prime Minister Imran Khan.
