DUBAI – Pakistan’s Embassy in the UAE has announced that the validity of machine readable passports (MRPs) can only be extended up to 20 days for people travelling to Pakistan due to an emergency.
“It is informed that according to the policy guidelines of the Ministry of Interior, the validity period of MRP (machine readable passport) can only be extended for a period of 15-20 days in emergency cases for travelling to Pakistan only,” the embassy said in a statement on Thursday.
The announcement regarding passports comes at a time when Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination has introduced a surveillance system across the country’s all airports to monitor arriving passengers following the threat posed by the new variant of the Coronavirus.
Under the decision, all passengers including those flying from the UAE will have to go through thermal screeners installed at the airports.
It is to be mentioned that UAE hosts about 1.7 million Pakistanis, the second largest Pakistani expat community in the world.
The data by the State Bank of Pakistan confirms that the volume of remittances from the UAE to Pakistan in fiscal year 2022 was $2555.22 million, implying that a sizeable Pakistani workforce is employed in the country in diverse fields from banks to real estate.
