RIYADH, 1 January — Pakistani and Indian expatriates living in Saudi Arabia will have no problems in traveling to any part of either country as their embassies here clarified yesterday that they will continue to issue visas despite a decision to snap direct travel links between the two countries.
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh said that it was still issuing visas to Pakistani nationals including "non-police reporting" visas to the privileged category.
"There is no change in the policy," said B.P. Kothiyal, counselor at the Indian embassy, here yesterday. He could not say how many Pakistani nationals seek visas from the Indian mission each year.
Ehsan Ullah Batth, first secretary at the Pakistan Embassy, said there will be no restrictions on issuance of visas for Indian nationals. The Pakistani mission will issue visas to Indians "as usual and as per established normal procedures," Batth said, adding that there was no change in policy.
The news comes as a welcome relief to over 2.6 million expatriates from the subcontinent who can fly from Saudi Arabia to either Pakistan or India even though all direct travel links between the two countries will remain suspended as of today.
The decision by New Delhi and Islamabad to withdraw over-flight rights for Pakistani and Indian planes will hamper travel plans of a large number of people here.
India announced last Thursday the suspension of over-flight rights for Pakistani aircraft and Pakistan responded by making a similar decision.
On problems created by the decision to close Indian and Pakistani air space to each other, travel industry sources said all Far Eastern-bound flights from Pakistan will be affected. India may have to suspend or divert all its Western-bound flights, including the Gulf countries, Europe and the United States.
Flights originating from India to the Kingdom will now take an extra half-hour to reach their destinations.
The sources said that the cost of air travel is also likely to go up on certain sectors adjacent to India or Pakistan.
