Pakistan relaxes visa regime

LAHORE: In an unprecedented goodwill gesture and to push forward the peace process, the Pakistan government has drastically revised and eased its visa policy with a view to making the country friendlier for Indian tourists, especially businessmen and pilgrims.

The Indian and Pakistani authorities had been traditionally suspicious of each other’s visitors because of a long history of disputes between the two neighbours. However, according to the Pakistan government’s new visa policy, unveiled by Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao the other day, special visa concessions have been announced for different categories of Indian visitors like businessmen, group tourists and pilgrimage tourists.

As per the new policy, businessmen and professionals from all over the world will be encouraged to visit through easier, hassle-free visa processing at Pakistani missions abroad. However, special care has been taken by the Pakistani authorities to promote travel and tourism with India, in an apparent bid to improve confidence-building measures between the two countries.

According to the new policy, visas for members of civil society, senior citizens, children under 12, widows and divorcees from India have been enhanced up to two years. Indian group tourists will now be allowed 30-day visas instead of 14-day visas through designated tour operators. Indian nationals (not less than 10 in number) would be allowed pilgrimage visas to visit holy shrines in Pakistan for 15 days instead of five days.

At the same time, a new business visa encourages Indian businessmen to visit and further promote business activity between India and Pakistan, which was previously not allowed. Indian businessmen will be allowed six-month business visas with multiple entries and a maximum stay of 30 days. Diplomatic and non-diplomatic visas belonging to the Indian diplomats posted in Pakistan will be processed expeditiously and security clearance will be processed in only four weeks.

According to Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, the revised visa policy would encourage an inflow of foreign tourists, investors and businessmen that would ultimately give boost to trade, travel and tourism, especially between India and Pakistan. “The new visa policy is in line with President General Musharraf’s liberalisation policy and we expect the Indian government to reciprocate in the same spirit.”

According to the foreign office spokesperson, Tasneem Aslam, the Indian government had made some recommendations, some of which have been accepted by Pakistan while announcing the new visa policy. She agreed that visa restrictions hinder cross-border business, and cultural, intellectual, and civil society exchanges and these should be relaxed further.

Indians and Pakistanis wishing to visit the other country, including the thousands cut off from relatives when the subcontinent was divided in 1947, usually endure lengthy red tape for visas and are kept under close surveillance during their stays. Therefore, there were demands from both sides of the border to ease the visa restrictions. India was the first one to relax the visa regime in September 2004.