ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is not issuing visas to Pakistanis, interior ministry officials told a Senate committee on Thursday, revealing that Pakistan had narrowly escaped a passport ban from the Gulf nation.
Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry, while briefing the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, said: “The Pakistani passport narrowly escaped a ban from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.”
He maintained that if a ban is imposed, it would be difficult to have it lifted. The official said that the UAE is currently issuing visas only to blue passport and diplomatic passport holders.
A few months ago, a large number of Pakistanis were deported from Saudi Arabia over various legal and immigration violations, he added.
The official said that many Afghan citizens were also residing there as Pakistanis, said the additional interior secretary. He said that the neighboring country interfered in “our system and managed to get passports issued.
“We also hold responsibility in this,” he admitted, and said that there must have been corruption involved.
The Senate body was told that the interior ministry had digitally obtained the data of 180 million to 200 million Pakistanis to prevent any misuse or irregularities in passport issuance. “Records of all citizens are available, and verification is done immediately,” he added.
Responding to a question about legal aid to Pakistanis jailed abroad, the official said that different countries have their own laws, adding that it was not possible to have a lawyer everywhere.
“Most of the Pakistanis arrested abroad are involved in minor crimes,” he told the Senate panel.
To another query about human smuggling, the official said that he, on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, visited several countries to address the issue.
It is pertinent to mention here that hundreds of Pakistanis leave the country through illegal routes in search of a better future every year, with some losing their lives in accidents along the way.
The official revealed that organised human trafficking networks were operating from Gujarat, Wazirabad, Sheikhupura, and Lahore.
“Human traffickers are active in Dubai and various places in the Middle East,” he said, adding that up to Rs5 million is received by luring each innocent youth. Human smugglers push youth to illegal routes on the pretext of taking them to Europe, the official added.
Meanwhile, an envoy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has rejected reports claiming that Pakistanis are being denied visas, stressing that the consulate is witnessing record numbers of applications in recent weeks.
“Every type of visa is being processed, and reports of a ban are completely false,” said UAE Consul General in Karachi, Bakheet Ateeq Alremeithi, in an exclusive interview with Geo News.
He added that the visa section at the Karachi consulate is experiencing unprecedented rush for all categories of visas, and some types now require advance booking exceeding one month. The surge marks the highest level of visa demand the consulate has seen in the past three years.
His remarks came shortly after Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry told the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights that the UAE was not issuing visas to Pakistanis.
While briefing the Senate body, the official had said: “The Pakistani passport narrowly escaped a ban from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.”
He had maintained that if a ban is imposed, it would be difficult to have it lifted. The official had said that the UAE was issuing visas only to blue passport and diplomatic passport holders.
The Senate body was told that the interior ministry had digitally obtained the data of 180 million to 200 million Pakistanis to prevent any misuse or irregularities in passport issuance. “Records of all citizens are available, and verification is done immediately,” he added.
Responding to a question about legal aid to Pakistanis jailed abroad, the official had said that different countries have their own laws, adding that it was not possible to have a lawyer everywhere.
“Most of the Pakistanis arrested abroad are involved in minor crimes,” he had told the Senate panel.
The official had revealed that organised human trafficking networks were operating from Gujarat, Wazirabad, Sheikhupura, and Lahore.
“Human traffickers are active in Dubai and various places in the Middle East,” he had said, adding that up to Rs5 million is received by luring each innocent youth.
