UAE suspends issuance of new visas to Pakistan among 11 other countries; Pak replies

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday temporarily suspended the issuance of new visas to visitors for Pakistan and 11 other countries until further notice. Pakistan's Foreign Office confirmed the news saying that the decision by the UAE authorities is "believed to be related to the second wave of COVID-19", Dawn reported.

COVID cases in Pakistan on the rise

"We have learned that the UAE has temporarily suspended the issuance of new visit visas until further announcement for 12 countries, including Pakistan," the country's Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said. In a statement, Chaudhri clarified that the suspension will not apply to visas that have already been issued. It is not clear how many categories of visas would be affected by the suspension. The UAE has various visa categories including business, tourist, transit, student etc.

In June, when cases in Pakistan were on the rise, UAE airline Emirates had announced the temporary suspension of passenger services from Pakistan till July 3. The decision came after around 30 Pakistanis who arrived in Hong Kong on board an Emirates flight tested positive for the virus. The airline resumed its flights in July.

'This is the time to take precautions'

The number of infections has been rising in Pakistan since late last month and authorities have declared that the country was witnessing the second wave of COVID-19. Besides Pakistan, the UAE government suspended the issuance of visit visas to Turkey, Iran, Yamen, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Kenya, and Afghanistan among others, ANI reported.

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On Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had urged the people to "act as a nation" in order to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus. He announced new restrictions on public events, including the suspension of his party's political rallies, and stressed the implementation of mask-wearing and social distancing to control the spread of the virus.

"This is the time to take precautions. If we do, we can slow down the virus. Just like earlier we were saved due to following precautions, that time has come again," he said. Pakistan has so far recorded 363,380 cases of coronavirus and 7,230 deaths. There are 30,362 active COVID-19 cases in the country. 

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