Pakistan says UAE visa restrictions temporary, related to coronavirus outbreak 

Pakistani nationals check in at the Dubai International Airport before leaving the Gulf Emirate on a flight back to their country, on May 7, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. (AFP)
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Updated 21 December 2020
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Pakistan says UAE visa restrictions temporary, related to coronavirus outbreak 

  • UAE is home to 1.2 million Pakistanis, second-largest host to overseas Pakistani workers after Saudi Arabia
  • Pakistani foreign minister was on a two-day visit to the UAE last week to discuss trade and diaspora issues

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Sunday that United Arab Emirates authorities had assured Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi that restrictions on the issuance of visas to Pakistanis are temporary and related to the coronavirus outbreak.

Qureshi was in Abu Dhabi on a two-day visit last week, which came at a time when international media was reporting the UAE had stopped issuing new visas to citizens of 13 mostly Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan.

“Foreign Minister Qureshi was assured that the visa restrictions were temporary in nature and were imposed due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic,” the Pakistani foreign office said.

It cited a statement by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, which reaffirmed the UAE’s “appreciation” of the Pakistani community and their “active contribution to the growth and prosperity of the country.”

The UAE is home to 1.2 million Pakistanis and the second-largest host to overseas Pakistani workers and source of foreign remittances, after Saudi Arabia.

“During the visit of the Foreign Minister, the two sides acknowledged Pakistani community’s positive contribution to the UAE’s success story,” the Pakistani foreign office said on Thursday, after Qureshi’s meetings with Al-Nahyan and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of the emirate of Dubai.


Pakistan army hits Afghan Taliban drone storage facility, ammunition depot in Jalalabad

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Pakistan army hits Afghan Taliban drone storage facility, ammunition depot in Jalalabad

  • Around 435 Afghan Taliban fighters killed, over 630 injured in Pakistani military offensive, minister says
  • Several countries, global bodies have urged both sides to exercise restraint since the conflict began last week

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army struck a drone storage facility and ammunition depot of Afghan Taliban in Jalalabad, a Pakistani security official said on Monday, following Pakistani strikes on more than 50 locations in Afghanistan amid ongoing hostilities between the neighbors.

Pakistan launched Operation ‘Ghazb lil Haq’ against Afghanistan on the night of Feb. 26 following an attack by Afghanistan on Pakistani military installations along their shared border.

The worst fighting between the two neighbors in years erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad called militant hideouts inside Afghanistan on Feb. 21-22, accusing Kabul of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants behind the attacks on its soil. Afghanistan denies the charge.

A Pakistani security official, who requested anonymity, said the army was continuing “strong retaliatory action” against the Afghan Taliban and blew up multiple border posts, forcing them to abandon their positions.

“Pakistan forces are effectively targeting the bases and military installations of the Fitna Al-Khawarij and the Afghan Taliban,” he said.

“During the effective counter-operation of the Pakistani forces, the ammunition depot and drone storage site of Fitna Al-Khawarij (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban in Jalalabad was destroyed.”

Separately, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said more than 400 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and over 630 wounded in the Pakistani military offensive so far.

Pakistan destroyed around 188 check posts and captured 31, according to a post on X by Tarar. Over 180 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns were also destroyed in Pakistani air raids at 51 locations across Afghanistan.

On Sunday, Pakistani state media shared a video of what it said were Pakistani soldiers crossing into Afghanistan in the northwest to capture an Afghan post. Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area of Afghanistan, another Pakistani security official said.

Afghan officials earlier said that dozens of Pakistani soldiers had been killed and several Pakistan posts had been captured by their forces. None of the casualty figures or battlefield claims from either side could be independently verified.

Since the conflict began last week, diplomatic efforts have intensified, with several countries and international bodies calling on both sides to exercise restraint.

The United Nations, along with China and Russia, has called for calm, while US President Donald Trump said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.