PESHAWAR: Traders in both Afghanistan and Pakistan said they welcomed an announcement by the Pakistan embassy in Kabul that it was implementing “in letter and spirit” a new liberal visa policy for Afghan nationals, but cautioned that strict measures at border crossings between the neighbors were impeding the movement of travelers and hampering trade.
Traders have long urged officials in Kabul and Islamabad to ease border measures to expedite the movement of goods between the two countries, a process that has slowed down even further in recent months due to new rules introduced to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Pakistan embassy in Kabul said the embassy and consulates in Afghanistan had “ensured implementation of Pakistan government’s new liberal visa policy for Afghan nationals enacted on 29 September 2020 in letter and spirit.”
“Yes, we see the visa process has now been expedited and a large number of Afghans are visiting Pakistan but the problem is that Pakistani officials have certain limitations in place on the Pak-Afghan Torkham border, which is a serious matter of concern,” Hajji Muhammad Usman, a member of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Chamber of Commerce, told Arab News on Tuesday, referring to a major border crossing between the two nations.
Under the new policy, the number of visa form collection windows has been increased from seven to 17 and long-term multiple entry visas have been allowed for all categories of visitors. The Pakistan embassy has also introduced an online or E-visa for Afghan nationals in major cities.
Separate windows have been designated for applicants seeking medical treatment and for students, traders and women. Except for business visas, there is no fee to apply for a visa.
“As a result of these concrete measures, this Embassy and our Consulates have issued 150,000 visas during the months of October and November alone,” the embassy statement said. “In addition to this, around 12,000 online E-visas have been issued by the Embassy during the past one and a half month.”
Zarqeeb Shinwari, President of Custom Clearing Agents on the Pakistani side of the Torkham border, said the liberal visa policy was a “good gesture” and would improve bilateral ties but both countries needed to make the movement of traders and travelers easier at border points.
Pakistan’s commerce minister said last month Islamabad planned to increase the volume of bilateral trade with Afghanistan, which stood at $2 billion in 2019, to $5 billion in the next five years.
Traders cautiously optimistic about new liberal visa policy for Afghan nationals
https://arab.news/65cem
Traders cautiously optimistic about new liberal visa policy for Afghan nationals
- As a result of new measures, Pakistan embassy and consulates have issued 150,000 Afghan visas during October and November alone
- Traders have long urged Kabul and Islamabad to ease border measures to expedite movement of goods between the two countries
Opposition protests over Imran Khan’s eye treatment as government offers specialist care
- Opposition alliance says protest in front of parliament to continue until Khan is admitted to Shifa Hospital
- Government says the ex-premier’s medical report will be compiled again amid judicial oversight of the case
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition alliance staged a sit-in outside Parliament House on Friday demanding that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan be shifted to a private hospital for treatment of his worsening eye condition, as the government promised the best possible treatment and said the case was under judicial oversight.
Police locked the gates of parliament and cordoned off surrounding roads, preventing protesters from gathering in front of the building, witnesses and opposition leaders said. Security was also tightened around Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) House, where officials and lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were stopped from approaching parliament.
The province is governed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party which is in the opposition at the center.
“We have staged a sit-in for the earliest medical check-up of Imran Khan, which would take just ten minutes,” Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and head of the opposition Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan alliance, told reporters at Parliament House.
“If it is conducted, we will end our protest,” he added.
In a post on X, the alliance said its leadership would continue the sit-in “until Imran Khan is admitted to Al-Shifa Hospital.”
A group of protesters, led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, also camped outside the KP House in the federal capital after an initial scuffle with police.
During the clash KP government spokesperson Shafi Jan was arrested but later released as more protesters gathered outside the facility.
Jan warned that if PTI activists were prevented from joining the main protest, they “will give a call for a countrywide strike.”
“We want to proceed toward Parliament to join the protest,” he added. “We want the Supreme Court’s verdict to be implemented that Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa Hospital, treated there and then brought back.”
The protest follows a rare prison visit earlier this month by Barrister Salman Safdar, appointed as amicus curiae by the Supreme Court to assess Khan’s health and living conditions at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail. Safdar submitted a detailed report that was made public on Thursday.
The report said that in view of the seriousness of Khan’s ocular condition, “it is imperative that the seriousness of the condition be independently ascertained without delay.”
Safdar also recommended that the court consider involving Khan’s personal physicians or other specialists of his choice, warning that “any further delay poses a serious risk to the Petitioner’s well-being.”
According to a Feb. 6 medical report from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) cited in Safdar’s filing, Khan was diagnosed with “right central retinal vein occlusion” after reporting reduced vision in his right eye. He underwent an intravitreal injection at PIMS and was discharged with follow-up advice.
In his interaction with Safdar, Khan said he had suffered “rapid and substantial loss of vision over the preceding three months” and claimed his complaints had not been addressed promptly in custody. He further said he had been left with “only 15 percent vision in his right eye.”
Safdar’s report noted that the 73-year-old former premier appeared “visibly perturbed and deeply distressed” over the loss of vision, though it also recorded that he expressed satisfaction with his safety, basic amenities and food provisions in prison.
Responding to the controversy, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry rejected PTI’s claims that Khan had been suffering from an eye issue since October last year.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, he said Khan was visited by his sister on Dec. 2 but she did not mention the medical issue.
“Medical report will be compiled again, the chief justice of the Supreme Court is himself monitoring this case,” he said. “Wherever it will be requested, Imran Khan’s eye will be examined at.”
Chaudhry vowed there would be no negligence.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar earlier rejected claims of mistreatment, saying the “narrative being propagated to international media” by Khan’s family had “fallen flat on its face,” and that prison records showed he enjoyed facilities “more than any other prisoner.”
Khan has been in custody since August 2023 in connection with multiple cases that he and his party describe as politically motivated. The government denies the allegation.
Concerns over his health resurfaced after authorities confirmed he had briefly been taken from prison to a hospital in Islamabad for an eye procedure. While the government said his condition was stable, Khan’s family and PTI leaders alleged they were not informed in advance and that he was being denied timely and independent medical access.
