UAE visas for Pakistanis not suspended officially

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Wednesday categorically said there was no official announcement about suspension of visas for the Pakistani citizens by the UAE government.

“Let me reiterate that Pakistan has strong and fraternal ties with the UAE. However, we are cognizant of the fact that our nationals are facing visa restrictions. We understand that these restrictions only apply to visit visas and not to renewal of existing visas. We are in touch with the UAE authorities both in Abu Dhabi and Islamabad,” said the Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri during a weekly media briefing here. The ban was temporarily placed on new visas for Pakistanis and sever other Muslim countries including Afghanistan.

While the UAE has not publicly given any reason for the ban, at the time the Foreign Office spokesman had said that it could be related to the existing pandemic. “The foreign minister met the UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation on the sidelines of the 47th OIC CFM and raised this issue. The ministry is making concerted efforts to address the situation,” assured the spokesman.

Answering queries about the issuance of permits to the members of the UAE royal family for hunting houbara bustard that has been listed by the IUCN as a vulnerable species, the spokesman avoided a direct reply and said, “I will check and revert”.

Meanwhile, the spokesman expressed “serious concern” over Israel’s opening of the bidding process for construction of new settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

“Pakistan condemns this Israeli decision which is illegal under the international law and the relevant UN Resolutions,” said the spokesman. “Pakistan steadfastly supports the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and reiterates its consistent, clear and unambiguous position – for just and lasting peace in the Middle East. It is imperative to have a two-state solution in accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions, with the pre-1967 borders, and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian State,” added the spokesman.

Pakistan has not yet decided who will represent it at the inauguration of US President-elect Joseph Biden. “We look forward to working with the new administration to further strengthen our bilateral ties and continue our partnership to achieve peace, stability and prosperity in the region. We would also welcome resumption of structured dialogue with the US,” he said.

Pakistan expects that the new US administration would also take notice of the ongoing grave humanitarian situation and willful defiance of international law, democratic norms and human rights obligations by India in the India Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The spokesman condemned the assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in Tehran. “Such acts not only run contrary to all norms of interstate relations and International Law, but also threaten peace and stability in an already fragile region,” he said.

Pakistan strongly urges all sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further escalation of tensions in the region. “We believe reduction in tensions is essential for regional peace and security,” he said.