Wells lauds Pak’s efforts against illegal US immigrants

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US South Asia Assistant Secretary Alice Wells

Islamabad,  Visiting chief US diplomat for South Asian affairs, Alice Wells has said that the issue of illegal Pakistani immigrants in America has been resolved to a great extent, it was reported on Tuesday.

“We appreciate the Pakistan government’s cooperation on the matter,” Wells said on Monday during a meeting with Interior Minister retired Brig Ijaz Ahmad Shah, while adding that her government wants to come up with a strong system (for dealing with illegal immigrants) that can be used in the future, reports Dawn news.

Addressing Wells, Shah said that a stronger system to verify travel documents has already been created, while a second one was also in place for the monitoring of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs).

The two sides also discussed Pakistan’s progress on matters raised by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

“It is heartening to see that Pakistan’s government has made significant progress on these matters and that too in a short time,” Wells said.

The top US diplomat arrived in Islamabad on Sunday for a four-day visit after wrapping up her tour of India and Sri Lanka.

Sources said that Wells is expected hold further meetings with representatives from Pakistan’s political and military leadership to talk about several issues, including Pakistan-US ties and the Afghan reconciliation process.