Khar asks UK ministers to ease visa process

ISLAMABAD – UK Cabinet Minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, also chairperson of the ruling Conservative Party, called on Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar in the federal capital on Tuesday. “She was accompanied by Damian Green, Minister for Immigration, and the British high commissioner to Pakistan,” said a Foreign Office’s statement.
The minister of state highlighted the problems relating to the issuance of visa to the Pakistani nationals and also underlined the importance of revisiting the British travel advisory on Pakistan as part of promoting bilateral economic relations and people-to-people contacts.
In response, Damian Green said the system had been streamlined with visit visas being issued within 15 days while those for business purposes within five days. Khar reiterated the importance that Pakistan attached to its relationship with the UK and said the people were looking forward to the visit of Prime Minister David Cameron, which would give a further boost to the strategic partnership.
She briefed the delegation on the government’s economic reforms strategy, which included improvement in public expenditure management, domestic resource mobilisation and attaining economic efficiency through devolution.
Warsi reaffirmed that Britain attached immense importance to its strategic ties with Pakistan, adding that British-Pakistanis were a strong bridge between the two countries.