Citizens’ passports trapped in Peshawar's closed Afghan consulate

Afghan authorities shut down visa section under protest over demolition of Afghan Market next to its premises

PESHAWAR: Hundreds of citizens' passports have been trapped inside the embassy due to the closure of the Afghan consulate in Peshawar.

The Afghan authorities have shut down the visa section in Peshawar under protest over the demolition of Afghan Market next to its premises.

The Afghan government claims that it had purchased the land adjacent to the consulate from a Hindu trader before 1947. However, a Pakistani national filed claim to the area and won the case from Peshawar High Court, following which the Afghan Market was demolished.

Incensed, the Afghan officials locked up the consulate and shifted visa section to Islamabad. Although, the consulate opened up after a week, but the visa section did not. Many people who had applied for passports were left running after Afghan officials to retrieve their passports. Traders told The Express Tribune that they have to regularly travel to Afghanistan, and the closure of visa section was creating unnecessary problems. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2019.