ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday the federal cabinet had approved a new visa regime for Afghan citizens, including traders and transporters, to promote business ties and bring the two countries closer together.
The Pakistani Interior Ministry’s Afghan Inter-Ministerial Cell, which includes representatives of the Foreign Office, National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) and Board of Investment, had prepared the visa policy for Afghans, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“Federal Cabinet has approved changes in visa regime for Afghan nationals. Now our embassies will process their visa applications on the basis of their current nationality,” Sharif said on Twitter. “Secondly, Afghan drivers & transporters will get multiple visa for a period of up to 1 year within 48 hours.”
“This facilitation in the visa regime is aimed at bringing both countries closer, helping Afghan people & attracting business and investment from wider Central Asian region.”
“To promote trade from Afghanistan, a new sub-category in the work visa category, called drivers, transporters, helpers, will be introduced in the Pakistan Online Visa System,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The cabinet also proposed visa facilitation for patients returning from Afghanistan and decided that a policy to increase investment by Afghan citizens in Pakistan would be formulated “within two weeks.”
Earlier this week, Sharif announced that the government would import coal from Afghanistan in the coming days to ensure low-cost power generation and save precious foreign currency reserves.
