01-26-2019, 03:04 PM
NEW VISA POLICY TO FACILITATE TOURISM INCLUDES E- VISA FOR NATIONALS OF 175 COUNTRIES
https://www.dawn.com/news/1459707/new-vi...-countriesPAKISTAN’s NEW VISA POLICY FOR FOREIGN TOURISTS EXPLAINED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAfsjBBFBLw
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Friday said the government is introducing a "new revolutionary visa policy" to encourage tourism in the country. Pakistan's visa regime "used to be open until about 1965 onwards", he said, adding that the country is "a paradise for tourism". "We have mountain tourism, religious tourism, beach tourism, cities and huge food tourism. For this initiative, all agencies and departments put their heads together at the prime minister's suggestion," Chaudhry said.
The government has decided to provide the e-visa facility to 175 countries and visa on arrival to 50 countries, he said. Visa on arrival will also be provided to Indian-origin British and American citizens holding United States or United Kingdom passports. Tour operators that are approved by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) will now be allowed to bring groups of tourists to Pakistan, he said.
Additionally, the process for acquiring a work visa to nationals of 96 countries for business purposes has been eased, Chaudhry said, with applicants receiving their visa in 7-10 days after the Board of Investment issues them a letter. The duration of diplomatic and student visas has been extended from one year to three years, and one year to two years, respectively, while a visa for religious purposes will remain valid for 45 days, the information minister added.
The processing of journalist visas will be done through the information ministry, Chaudhry said, and restrictions on journalists to limit their movements to just three cities have been lifted. Foreign tourists will not require no-objection certificates (NOCs) to visit open cantonments, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit Baltistan, Chaudhry said. "They can go anywhere in Pakistan, they don't need an NOC anymore."
"We want tourism to be promoted, to become the foundation for change in Pakistan," Chaudhry said. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader compared the incumbent government's term to the previous government, saying that it had "brought Pakistan back on the world map".
The PTI in its manifesto promised to develop 20 new tourist destinations during its tenure, at an average of four a year. The tourism department intends to explore tourism potential in Kurram tribal district and the Samana hill station in Orakzai tribal district under the plan, and has also selected 25 areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where sites will be identified for the promotion of tourism.
Recently, the government also announced it would open the Kartarpur Corridor to Sikh pilgrims from India in 2019, and has outlined a plan to facilitate them.
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Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said that democracy in Pakistan could only flourish if it is based on accountability and merit. Addressing graduates at Namal College’s sixth convocation in Mianwali, the premier said the reason democracy never strengthened in Pakistan was because its previous leaders never actually worked to attain power.
“In a functioning democracy, there is no space for hereditary politics and sincere leaders only rise to power after a period of struggle. Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif faced no such struggles; they were hand-picked for positions of power,” the premier said. “Similarly, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father, Asif Ali Zardari, inherited leadership of their party.” “Democracy replaced monarchy as the preferred governance system because it is based on meritocracy and accountability,” PM Imran said.
Citing China as an example, he said though the economic giant does not have a traditional democratic system, its governance model is one based on merit and accountability. “China’s leader, President Xi Jinping, rose to power after a 30-year struggle. Today, China has a system that does not afford any individual special privileges; almost 400 ministers have faced accountability in China on charges of corruption.”
Reiterating his commitment to serve the masses, the prime minister asserted that a nation can only rise if public money is spent on public welfare. The prime minister also spoke on the pressing need to improve the country’s economy. “We are blessed with natural resources which we have failed to ever properly utilise. Today, we are disproportionately reliant on imports and our exports have consistently declined over past decades,” he said. “A major reason for this has been our failure to adapt modern technology. Our agriculture sector lags behind because our farmers do not know the latest techniques and do not have the latest tools.”
In his concluding remarks, Premier Imran reposed confidence in Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and criticised Shehbaz Sharif’s recent comments about his successor. “He [Shehbaz Sharif] had something to say about Usman Buzdar. My question to him, though, is who are you to say anything after getting everything through your brother?”
“In a functioning democracy, there is no space for hereditary politics and sincere leaders only rise to power after a period of struggle. Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif faced no such struggles; they were hand-picked for positions of power,” the premier said. “Similarly, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father, Asif Ali Zardari, inherited leadership of their party.” “Democracy replaced monarchy as the preferred governance system because it is based on meritocracy and accountability,” PM Imran said.
Citing China as an example, he said though the economic giant does not have a traditional democratic system, its governance model is one based on merit and accountability. “China’s leader, President Xi Jinping, rose to power after a 30-year struggle. Today, China has a system that does not afford any individual special privileges; almost 400 ministers have faced accountability in China on charges of corruption.”
Reiterating his commitment to serve the masses, the prime minister asserted that a nation can only rise if public money is spent on public welfare. The prime minister also spoke on the pressing need to improve the country’s economy. “We are blessed with natural resources which we have failed to ever properly utilise. Today, we are disproportionately reliant on imports and our exports have consistently declined over past decades,” he said. “A major reason for this has been our failure to adapt modern technology. Our agriculture sector lags behind because our farmers do not know the latest techniques and do not have the latest tools.”
In his concluding remarks, Premier Imran reposed confidence in Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and criticised Shehbaz Sharif’s recent comments about his successor. “He [Shehbaz Sharif] had something to say about Usman Buzdar. My question to him, though, is who are you to say anything after getting everything through your brother?”