PM Shehbaz gives nod to new transit visas for Afghans

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved a fresh transit visa policy for Afghan immigrants to ease their woes pertaining to their travel plans, an official said on Saturday.

Salman Sufi, Head of PM’s Strategic Reforms Initiatives, said the premier approved the new policy for the refugees who needed to pass through Pakistan to reach their destination countries that had approved their immigration.

He added that under the new policy, the government would issue a 30-day transit visas to the Afghan citizens within 24 hours.

Also read: Afghans face difficulties despite launch of e-visas

Those countries that had granted immigration to the Afghan citizens, could apply for transit visas from Pakistan, he maintained.

It was reported in October last year that despite the launch of e-visa facility for Afghan nationals, the troubles of those who want to cross into Pakistan at the Torkham border were far from over.

Afghan nationals were quoted at the time as saying that around 75 per cent of people who crossed the Torkham border into Pakistan were those who sought medical treatment at the hospitals in Peshawar while the rest of them were either traders or those who had family members in Pakistan.