ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON – The United States will deport over 70 “illegal” Pakistani nationals and a special chartered plane will bring them back on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Tuesday.
Briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, the minister said all these individuals were detained and prosecuted for immigration violations, criminal conduct and other serious charges.
“The United States is going to deport over 70 illegal Pakistanis. Pakistan has asked the United States to fulfil legal requirements about the Pakistanis being deported,” Geo News quoted Mr Qureshi as saying.
“These Pakistanis will return to the country via a special charter plane tomorrow,” he added.
https://twitter.com/PTIofficial/status/1128274691926503430
During the briefing, Qureshi rejected reports of the US imposing visa restrictions on Pakistan but acknowledged that three Pakistani officials have been banned by the Trump administration from travelling to the US.
“The US has banned visit visa for three officials due to some reasons. These include joint secretary, additional secretary interior and DG passport. This restriction is not on Pakistan and the clarification for this has been given by both the sides,” he said.
“The foreign ministry will only issue that many visas that the US does,” the foreign minister was quoted as saying by Geo News.
“If the US issues visas for five years, then Pakistan will issue it for five years as well.”
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/fo-terms-reports-of-us-visa-sanctions-on-pakistan-as-misleading/
Washington’s decision to deport over 70 Pakistani nationals and deny visit visas to three senior officials came after a warning issued late last month by the US that the visa sanction policy might also withhold visas of Pakistani senior officials and not just of ordinary travellers, The News reported from Washington.
The Trump administration after coming to power has made it clear that it will strictly enforce such provisions under the law.
Pakistan was the latest to join the list of 10 countries that are facing such sanctions under a law according to which countries refusing to take back deportees and visa over-stayers could be denied American visas.
Other countries against whom the US has introduced visa restrictions are Ghana, Guyana, the Gambia, Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Myanmar and Laos.
On the other hand, officials at Pakistani embassy in Washington said that the discussions to resolve the visa issue was ongoing, but claimed that the reports of sanctions on the country were misleading.
The US State Department has also not clarified the extent of these sanctions.
Pakistan has recently revised its visa policy and included the United States in its list of countries whose businessmen can avail themselves of long-term visas and even on-arrival visa facilities.
