Pakistan waives off NOC policy for foreigners

ISLAMABAD - – Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Tuesday said abolishing the No Objection Certificate (NOC) condition for foreign tourists visiting Pakistan, under new visa regime was a landmark achievement.

In a tweet, the minister said that under the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, visa policy has been relaxed to make Pakistan one of the favourite destinations of foreign tourists.

https://twitter.com/fawadchaudhry/status/1110411617659965440

In a notification of the Ministry of Interior, it said that as per cabinet decision dated January 31, 2019: “Free movement of foreigners shall be allowed in open cantonments except prohibited and restricted areas with visible signboards. The border crossings will be open and non-restricted.”

“AJK and GB and Chitral will be non-restricted/ non-prohibited except 10 miles of Pak-China border, Pak-Afghan border (Wakhan corridor), AJK (along LoC), GB (along LoC), Siachen (along with the line of actual contact)” the notification added.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said his government was rolling out a new visa regime to facilitate tourism in the country as well as attract foreign investment.

According to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s official Twitter account, the new e-visa scheme will facilitate visitors from 175 countries.