Pakistan sets new visa-clearance committee to ease, secure process
“Pakistan has formed a cabinet committee to recommend reforms for the visa clearance regime.”
Key points
- Pakistan has formed a cabinet committee to recommend reforms for the visa clearance regime.
- The panel, led by the law minister, must submit proposals within 14 days to make the process easier, more transparent, and secure.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal government has decided to draft a new visa policy aimed at reducing longstanding hurdles while improving transparency and security in the clearance process.
To steer the work, the federal cabinet has set up a six-member cabinet committee on the visa clearance regime, led by Federal Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar. The panel includes Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik, and the federal law and interior secretaries.
Officials said the Interior Ministry will provide secretarial support to the committee. The group has been tasked with recommending measures that make the visa process easier for applicants while ensuring screening standards remain robust.
The committee is expected to present its recommendations to the federal cabinet within 14 days. The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of passengers and recurring complications linked to visa acquisition, illegal migration, fake travel documents, and tougher internal laws in a number of destination countries.
The development also follows recent steps to overhaul travel clearance mechanisms, including the approval of a new visa clearance system and the launch of pre-departure facilitation desks. Separately, Pakistan and the UAE have discussed a pre-immigration clearance arrangement that would allow UAE-bound travellers to complete clearance in Pakistan and exit more smoothly upon arrival.
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