Pakistan likely to issue electronic visas to investors, tourists: Ahsan Iqbal

Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Monday that Pakistan will likely issue electronic visas to facilitate genuine investors and visitors.

“The Foreign Office has been contacted to discuss the proposal further,” the minister said while addressing members of the Pakistani community at the Pakistani High Commission in London. Iqbal hoped the measure would elevate the country’s status as one of the best investment zones and tourist destination in the region.

Replying to a query on occupied Kashmir, Iqbal said the people of the Indian Occupied Kashmir were facing the worst kind of atrocities at the hands of Indian forces. He called upon the international community, including the United Kingdom, to play their role in helping the Kashmiri people achieve self-determination.

Ahsan Iqbal told the Pakistani diaspora that the country had become a top destination for investors because it provided access to an attractive market of 207 million people and an emerging middle class.

He urged upon them to take into account investment opportunities in various parts of the economy, including the information technology sector. Overseas Pakistanis can play their vital role in the socio-economic development of the country.

The minister said that Pakistan was now a strong and stable democracy and stressed the need for political stability and continuity of policies for the prosperity of the country.

Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner to United Kingdom (UK) Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry, Members of the UK Parliament Illyas Amin Qureshi and Muhammad Yasin, officials of Pakistan High Commission (PHC), a large number of British-Pakistanis, and journalists, attended the reception.