The government alerted lawmakers to possible UAE visa restrictions for Pakistanis, prompting confusion after the Emirati Consulate in Karachi denied any suspension of visa services.
Additional Secretary for Interior Salman Chaudhry told the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights that the UAE is not issuing visas to Pakistani citizens, except to holders of blue and diplomatic passports. He also revealed that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE had been close to imposing a ban on Pakistani passports but stepped back at the last moment.
He warned that if such a ban re-emerged, reversing it would be extremely difficult.
However, the Karachi-based UAE Consul General, Bakheet Atiq Al-Rumaithi, rejected reports of UAE visa restrictions for Pakistanis, saying the consulate had not observed any official suspension in the past three years. He said the mission only faced an unusually high influx of applicants, which caused long processing times.
He explained that certain visa categories require advance appointments, with waiting periods extending beyond one month. But, he added, the claim of a blanket ban is “completely incorrect”.
Meanwhile, interior ministry officials briefed the committee on several related concerns. They said over 500,000 Afghan nationals lived abroad using Pakistani passports, with some implicated in criminal activities. They noted that Pakistan has suffered reputational harm because of these cases.
Officials added that thousands of Pakistanis jailed overseas faced charges such as overstaying, identity fraud and banking fraud. They said Pakistani missions hold data for nearly 90% of such cases and that some countries release minor offenders on religious occasions.
The ministry also reported that major human-smuggling networks operate across several Punjab districts, charging young men 43mn to 50mn rupees to send them abroad through dangerous, illegal routes.
Despite the warnings, the UAE Consul General reiterated that UAE visa restrictions for Pakistanis are not in place, and that rumours of a ban have spread without basis. He said heavy footfall at the visa section explains the delays, not policy changes.
