ISLAMABAD: Kuwait will ‘immediately’ resume the granting of business and family visas to Pakistani nationals, Minister for Interior Shaikh Rasheed said in a series of tweets on Sunday after a meeting with Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah.
Kuwait had suspended visas for nationals of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2011 over what it said was difficult security conditions in the five countries.
Pakistanis living in the Gulf will now be able to come to Kuwait with an online visa, the minister tweeted, and there would be no restrictions on technical visas in the fields of medicine and oil. Labourers will also be issued work visas under an agreement between the two countries.
“Pakistani families and the business community faced enormous problems with the Kuwaiti visa ban,” he tweeted, and lauded the role of Pakistani labour in the early development of Kuwait.
“Restoration of worker visas will create new employment opportunities for Pakistanis and business visas will boost trade between the two countries.”
In mid-March, Rasheed announced that talks were underway for Kuwaiti visas to be issued again for Pakistanis.
His visit to Kuwait follows Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s meeting with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah on the sidelines of the Special Meeting of the General Assembly on Palestine in New York last week.
After a decade, Kuwait to resume visas 'immediately' for Pakistanis — Interior Minister
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After a decade, Kuwait to resume visas 'immediately' for Pakistanis — Interior Minister
- In 2011, Kuwait had suspended visas for nationals of five countries, including Pakistan, over security concerns
- Pakistanis in Gulf will be able to visit Kuwait with online visa
Pakistan says it seized 32 square kilometers inside Afghanistan as border clashes escalate
- Security official describes ‘limited tactical action’ in Gudwana after Afghan assaults
- Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants as UN, China and Russia urge restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area inside Afghanistan following overnight fighting, a security official said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes between the two countries escalated sharply.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said troops carried out a “limited tactical action” in the Gudwana area opposite the Zhob sector along the frontier, capturing Afghan territory after responding to attacks on Pakistani positions.
“On the night of Feb. 26/27, posts opposite the Zhob sector launched anticipated physical attacks on multiple Pakistani positions,” the official said, referring to fighters linked to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, whom Islamabad identifies as Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
“In response to aggressive unprovoked fire and physical attacks, Pakistan security forces launched a limited tactical action on the night of Feb. 27/28 in the general area of Gudwana with a view to capture TTA Tahir Post,” he continued, adding that 32 square kilometers of Afghan territory were seized.
The official said special combat teams crossed the border after preparatory bombardment, supported by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets providing “real-time battlefield awareness.”
He said 24 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and 37 wounded, with no Pakistani casualties reported.
The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from Taliban authorities in Kabul of any territorial loss in the Gudwana area.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan over the weekend, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday evening that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
Tarar said Pakistani strikes had destroyed 130 check posts, 171 tanks and armored vehicles and targeted 41 locations across Afghanistan by air. Those figures could not be independently verified.
The United Nations, as well as China and Russia, have called for restraint.
The United States said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
