ISLAMABAD – On arrival Visas for Americans has been restarted by thefederal government which was earlier closed as it was revealed that foreignagents and spies have been using this facility to arrive in Pakistan.
Following the deteriorating security scenario the foreign agancies hand wasbeing found in the past and intelligence agencies had asked for closure ofsuch on arrival visas.
Lawmakers in the lower house of parliament have expressed concerns over thenewly-revived visa-on-arrival scheme that may result in opening doors toprivate military contractors such as Blackwater and other notorious spyintelligence agencies.
Last week, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced that Pakistan isnow offering visas to people travelling in groups from 24 differentcountries.
“The scheme has been started on American pressure,” PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shireen Mazari claimed during a session of theNational Assembly on Wednesday.
“This step by the government has posed serious threats to the nationalsecurity,” Mazari said, adding that the scheme had earlier resulted in theUS spy agency’s presence in the country.
Moreover, the legislator feared that the move will allow non-governmentalagencies (NGOs) to fulfil their nefarious designs. She pointed out that thecountries the government is facilitating don’t issue visas to Pakistaniswithout hardships.
However, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal insisted that the scheme is aimed atfacilitating tourists, saying the relevant guidelines and security checkswould help ensure effective monitoring of visitors.
“I reject the apprehension that Blackwater or other security contractorscan enter Pakistan,” Iqbal asserted.
Responding on Iqbal’s statement during the session, former interiorminister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said he had put a ban on thevisa-on-arrival policy, saying it had guaranteed that Pakistan was treatedequally.
“Only those countries that allowed visa-on-arrival to Pakistanis had beenfacilitated,” he said, adding, “If our minister has to go to the embassy toget the visa and if we pay more, the countries we’re facilitating shouldtoo.”
These realities, he insisted, must not be politicised.
In April last year, Nisar, the then interior minister, ordered immediatesuspension of issuance of visas on arrival (landing permits) to foreignersto avoid any ‘irregularities’ in the database.