https://arab.news/yqxbh
- Pakistan has deported around 979,486 Afghan nationals since the launch of an expulsion drive in 2023
- Pakistan and Afghanistan have recently taken steps to restore diplomatic ties at the ambassadorial level
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will issue multiple-entry visas valid for one year to Afghan drivers and transporters to facilitate cross-border trade, its embassy in Kabul announced on Friday, amid an ongoing campaign to deport undocumented Afghan nationals.
Afghan drivers play a vital role in bilateral and transit trade between the two countries.
Under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), Afghan transporters are allowed to move goods between Pakistani ports and their countries major cities like Kandahar, Jalalabad and Kabul.
The Pakistan government’s decision to issue visas comes at a time when the government has repatriated 979,486 Afghan nationals since launching a deportation drive in 2023 over security concerns.
“The Government of Pakistan has decided to issue multiple-entry visas of one-year validity to Afghan drivers and transporters,” the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul said in a post on X. “The visa fee for this category would be $100.”
The new visa policy is likely to benefit ongoing trade flows, especially as Pakistan remains a primary corridor for Afghanistan’s access to international markets.
Afghan trucks are permitted to transport goods under the APTTA framework, including third-country imports destined for Afghanistan.
Applicants for the new visa will be required to upload a photograph, a scanned copy of their passport, Afghanistan’s national identity document, a valid temporary admission document, an employment letter from a registered transport company or an authority letter from a transport operator and a valid driving license.
Pakistan’s deportation policy in 2023 followed a spike in militant attacks, particularly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.
Islamabad has previously linked such attacks and other crimes to Afghan nationals, who make up the largest migrant population in the country, though Kabul has denied any nexus between the two.
Despite tensions, both countries have recently taken steps to restore diplomatic ties at the ambassadorial level.