UAE visa waiver for diplomatic, official Pakistani passports ‘in effect’: Dar
Aafia Siddiqui is Pakistan’s daughter, govt’s priority, says FM
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday announced that Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have agreed on multiple visa waivers for diplomatic and official Pakistani passports, and vice versa.
Pakistan and the UAE share close diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties. The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners in the Middle East and a major source of remittances, with a large Pakistani expatriate population living and working there.
In a post on X, Dar announced the agreement with the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, hailing the decision between “our two brotherly countries”.
“I have been informed by the UAE authorities that the visa waiver for diplomatic and official Pakistani passports entering the United Arab Emirates has been activated, effective July 25, 2025, at all UAE airports,” the foreign minister wrote.
“We agreed [on] mutual visa waivers on diplomatic and official passports between our two brotherly countries and we both signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to make this arrangement effective and operative after 30 days of the signing,” he added.
According to Dar, reciprocal arrangements have also been activated for Emirati nationals at all Pakistani airports.
Earlier this month, UAE’s Interior Minister Lt Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan assured “full support” in expediting visas for Pakistani citizens.
Al Nahyan’s statement came during a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Mohsin Naqvi.
During the visit, Naqvi emphasised the importance of easing the visa policy, stating, “We want Pakistani citizens to come to the UAE with ease. Relaxation in visa policies will bring great relief.”
In June, Pakistan and the UAE signed an MoU on mutual visa exemption during the 12th session of the Pakistan-UAE Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC).
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday stated there should be no misconception Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who’s imprisoned in US, is Pakistan’s daughter and a priority for the government.
Addressing the Pakistani-American community in New York, Dar said that efforts to resolve Aafia’s case will continue until a solution is found.
He said this in response to the social media reaction on his earlier statement regarding the incarcerated Pakistani neuroscientist.
Addressing an event in Washington on Friday, responding to a query about imprisonment of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Dar had made comparison between incarceration of Imran and Aafia.
He had said if “due process of the law has resulted in that action [arrest of Aafia],” then the same applies to Imran. “There’s no exception.”
‘Legal due process has no exceptions’, Dar compares Aafia, Imran’s arrests
Here in New York Dar clarified that he was asked a question about Imran, upon which, he said when the Pakistani government raises the issue of Aafia’s release with the US, it is told that the legal process does not allow for it. He said he just tried to make his point on the PTI founder’s arrest as there is also a legal process in Imran’s case.
Dismissing the criticism he received, he said that the entire world is appreciating Pakistan’s activities in the United States, yet opponents have begun criticising, following which, he said, he had to clarify. He also said, “If someone doesn’t understand English, what is my fault?”
After receiving the backlash, in a statement a day ago, FM Dar had said his comments in the US about the case of Dr Aafia were being “taken out of context”.
“Our government’s stance on the issue of Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s release is clear and unequivocal,” he had said in a post on X.
The deputy prime minister further stated that the government had also written a letter to former US president Joe Biden on the issue of Aafia, and even sought clemency for her from Biden before he left the office. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also met her sister two days ago to assure full support, he said, adding that Pakistan has made every effort to secure the release of Aafia Siddiqui.
