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The National Assembly was told on Friday that the government was reviewing business visa policy with a view to intensifying trade ties with other countries on reciprocal basis. Parliamentary Secretary for Interior Maryam Aurangzeb, while responding to quarries by lawmakers during a question-hour session, said that the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz had introduced business friendly visa policy in 2006 unilaterally but similar facilities were not provided to Pakistani nationals.
However, she said that a decision had been made at the highest level to review the business visa list and make it on reciprocal basis with other countries. To a question, she said that as per policy approved by the prime minister, only businessmen and not other categories of 67 business-friendly countries, including the UK were entitled to get visa on arrival by FIA immigration subject to production of any one of the following documents: (i) recommendation letter from a Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CC&I) of the respective country, (ii) invitation letter from a business organisation duly recommended by the concerned trade organisation/association in Pakistan, and (iii) recommendation letter by Honorary Investment Consular of BOI/Commercial Attache' posted at the missions abroad.
The countries enjoying facilities under the business visa list include: Argentina, Malta, Australia, Mauritius, Austria, Mexico, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Bahrain, Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, Bosnia, Norway, Brazil, Oman, Brunei, Philippine, Canada, Poland, Chile, Portugal, China, Qatar, Cyprus, Romania, Czech Republic, Russia, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Singapore, Estonia, Slovakia Republic, Finland, Slovenia, France, South Africa, Germany, South Korea, Greece, Spain, Hungary, Sri Lanka, Iceland, Sweden, Indonesia, Switzerland, Iran, Thailand, Ireland, Turkey, Italy, Turkmenistan, Japan, the UK, Jordan, the US, Kazakhstan, UAE, Kuwait, Malaysia, Luxembourg, Ukraine, Latvia, Vietnam and Lithonia.
To another query, she said that the British High Commission generally encouraged their businessmen to get visas before travelling to Pakistan. In a written reply to the house, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that a total of 3,112 foreign nationals had been arrested during one year period and 2,761 deported in the said period.
According to details, a total of 464 Indians (400 from Sindh, 5 from Punjab, 59 from KP) were arrested and 461 were deported during the last one year. Similarly, 2,481 Afghans were arrested from Sindh, Punjab and KP, whereas 2,213 Afghans were deported during the same period.
The nationals of other countries that were arrested and deported during the period included: 18 Bangladeshis, 4 Chinese, 14 British, 58 Nigerians, 4 Tanzanians, 18 Tajiks, 7 Somalians, 5 Iranians, 2 each belonging to UAE, Palestine, Philippines and Syria, 3 each belonging to Iraq, Sudan, Zambia, and South Africa,, one each belonging to Oman, North Africa, Thailand, Belgium, Austria, Kenya, Turkey, Germany, Jordan, Ukraine and Russia. According to the data provided to the House, all these foreign nationals were arrested from three provinces, Punjab, Sindh and KP while only one person - a citizen from Netherlands - was arrested from Balochistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2014

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