'Pakistan unaware' of any US restrictions

Official says there is no such communication from Washington so far

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ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan has no knowledge of US President Donald Trump Administration's proposed move for placing a new travel ban on certain countries, which have deficiencies in vetting and screening processes, sources said on Sunday.

Reports quoting unnamed US officials claimed that Afghanistan and Pakistan could be on the list of countries facing partial or complete ban. "We have no such information, nor any communication with the US administration," said an official, while requesting anonymity.

A White House official told CNN, "No decisions regarding possible travel bans have been made, and anyone claiming otherwise does not know what they are talking about it." Meanwhile, the US State Department had confirmed that it was "undertaking a full review of all visa programmes."

Some sources said that the reports of travel ban on Pakistan could be a deliberate leak by certain elements, which might not be happy with President Trump publicly praising Pakistan in his address to the US Congress.

The latest report by CNN said that Afghanistan could be on the list of countries facing ban but interestingly there was no mention of Pakistan. It said that the ban could come as soon as next week but noted that it was unclear if final decisions on countries and timing had been made.

In an executive order on January 20, President Trump directed cabinet members, including the secretary of state, to compile a list of countries "for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries".

The executive order calls for completion of the review within 60 days. "The department is undertaking a full review of all visa programmes as directed under this EO and executing on administration priorities," the spokesperson said, without giving further details, saying that they did "not comment on internal deliberations or communications".

In his first term, Trump barred travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations from coming to the US – a policy that saw court challenges before President Joe Biden repealed it when he took office in 2021.

If Afghanistan is included in the new travel ban, it could impact tens of thousands of Afghans, who worked alongside the US during its two decades of war there, as it would block Afghan nationals from coming to the US.

Meanwhile, US Centcom on Sunday praised Pakistan for helping the US capture Muhammad Sharifullah, one of the key facilitators of the August 2021 Kabul Airport attack. "We are grateful to Pakistan for its cooperation in the arrest of the main suspect, Sharifullah, as it helped bring the accused to justice in collaboration with the United States," read a statement posted on X by Centcom.