ISLAMABAD: The United States Embassy in Islamabad said on Sunday consular operations in Pakistan remained “normal and unchanged” even as Pakistan was added to a list of countries facing visa sanctions for refusing to take back deportees and visa overstayers.
The new visa-related sanctions are mentioned in the Federal Register notification which was updated earlier this week.
“Consular operations in Pakistan remain normal and unchanged,” the US embassy spokesman told Arab News. “The matter noted in the Federal Register is a bilateral issue of ongoing discussion between the US and Pakistani governments.”
“We are not going to get into the specifics at this time,” the spokesman said, declining further comment.
The Pakistani foreign office did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
“Since the law was modified to cover nonimmigrant visas in 1996, 318 visa applicants have been affected, and sanctions have been imposed on 10 countries,” the notification said. Guyana, Gambia, Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Burma, Laos and Ghana were already on the list, to which Pakistan has now been added.
“During this same time period, tens of millions of aliens have received nonimmigrant visas including, collectively, millions of applicants from the 10 countries affected,” the notification adds.
If initial sanctions “prove ineffective at encouraging the foreign government’s cooperation on removals,” escalation measures can be imposed, the notification states.
The visa sanctions come as US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice G. Wells are both expected to visit Pakistan next week, as announced by the Pakistani Foreign Office.
US embassy says consular operations in Pakistan ‘normal and unchanged’
US embassy says consular operations in Pakistan ‘normal and unchanged’
- Washington adds Pakistan to list of countries facing visa sanctions for refusing to take back deportees and visa overstayers
- Sanctions come at a time top US officials Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Alice Wells are expected in Pakistan
Pakistan top court appoints senior lawyer to inspect Imran Khan’s jail conditions
- Top court names ‘friend of the court’ amid renewed concerns over ex-PM’s health
- Move follows dispute over jail access to Khan, questions over his treatment in custody
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday appointed a senior lawyer as a “friend of the court” to visit jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and submit a report on his current living conditions, following renewed concerns raised by his family and party about his health and treatment in prison.
The decision came a day after the court declined a request by Latif Khosa, a lawyer affiliated with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, to meet the former premier without prior notice to the government. The court later issued a notice to the government and resumed hearings on the matter on Tuesday.
According to a copy of the court order seen by Arab News, the Supreme Court appointed Barrister Salman Safdar, Advocate Supreme Court, to carry out the inspection.
“Barrister Salman Safdar, ASC, is appointed as a friend of the Court to visit the petitioner at the Central Prison, Rawalpindi today and submit a written report regarding the ‘living conditions of the petitioner in jail,’” the order said.
The court noted that a report on Khan’s prison conditions had already been submitted in response to an earlier order, but that it related to his detention in 2023 at Attock jail and did not reflect his current incarceration.
“In this regard, a report regarding the present living conditions of the petitioner shall be submitted,” the order said.
The attorney general assured the court that Safdar would be granted full access to meet Khan and inspect his detention conditions.
“Barrister Salman Safdar, ASC, shall be provided full access to meet the petitioner and inspect his living conditions,” the order added, directing that the report be submitted by Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Safdar, who has represented Khan in the past, said the court had entrusted him with an independent responsibility.
“The court has assigned me a duty as a friend of the court, which we refer to as amicus, in which the court places its trust and confidence in you,” he said.
He added that he would visit Khan at 2pm on Tuesday at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Prison.
Khan, who was removed from office through a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022, has been in custody since August 2023 in a series of cases that he and his party say are politically motivated, an allegation the government denies.
Concerns over Khan’s health resurfaced last month after the government confirmed that he had been briefly taken from prison to a hospital in Islamabad for an eye procedure. Authorities said his condition was stable, while PTI leaders said they were not informed in advance and demanded greater transparency.
Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, have been convicted in multiple corruption cases. In January 2025, an accountability court sentenced Khan to 14 years in prison in the Al-Qadir Trust land corruption case. In December 2025, a special court handed Khan and Bibi 17-year sentences each in the Toshakhana-2 case involving alleged misuse of state gifts. Appeals in both cases are ongoing.
Khan insists all cases are political motivated and aimed at keeping him and his party out of power. The government rejects the allegation.
