*KABUL – Residents say they were lining up on daily bases at Pakistanembassy in Kabul to obtain visa but cannot acquire it easily unless theypay a bribe to relevant authorities.*
They said obtaining a visa for a person, particularly ailing individuals,consumes a lot of time and some even fail to get visa in repeated attempts.
“I am sick and it has been six days since I have come to obtain a visa, butdidn’t receive it yet. I have been asked to pay up to 200 or 300 USD inbribe to get the visa,” said Mohammad Aziz who is a resident of Wardakprovince. “I can’t afford to pay that sum, why this issue can’t be solved.”
Despite the hardships, the visa seekers are sometimes also subjected toviolence by police at the embassy gates.
The Interior Ministry, however, said that they have spread supervising thevisa process at Pakistan embassy in Kabul and that recently, at least 10individuals have been arrested on bribery charges in this regard.
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“The Interior Ministry has ordered its intelligence department to speed uptheir overseeing process so that the bribery issues being addressed and theculprits being identified,” said the Ministry Deputy Spokesman NasratullahRahimi.
Most of the Afghans are fleeing to Pakistan due to unemployment and healthissues, but they usually find it challenging to acquire Pakistani visa andit turns out to be an area of concern for many of them.
SOURCE:link
