Foreign office says UAE not issuing new visit visas to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates has temporarily suspended the issuance of new visit visas until further notice for 12 countries, including Pakistan, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad on Wednesday.
It added that the suspension was not applicable to already issued visa.
"The measure is believed to be related to the second wave of COVID-19," said the foreign office spokesperson, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri. "We are seeking official confirmation from the concerned UAE authorities in this regard."
Local media said that the Pakistan International Airlines spokesperson, Abdullah Hafeez, confirmed the development, though he said that the airlines had not received written instructions so far.
Hafeez noted that iqama holders, transit travelers and those in possession of work permits were still allowed to enter the Gulf country.
Pakistan has recorded over 363,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than 7,200 related deaths since it reported its first case in the last week of February.
According to senior government functionaries and medical experts, the country is once again witnessing an alarming increase in the number of infections and has been hit by the second wave of the pandemic.
Pakistan reported 2,208 new cases in the last 24 hours and 37 deaths due to the virus.
The prime minister's former special adviser on healthcare, Dr Zafar Mirza, suspected in a Twitter post on Wednesday that the second coronavirus wave in the country was far more dangerous and could claim more lives.

Foreign office says UAE not issuing new visit visas to Pakistan