UAE authorities maintain there is no visa ban and all categories continue to be processed.
Karachi, Pakistan: Members of Pakistan’s business community have claimed to be hit by a silent visa ban by the United Arab Emirates, with business leaders complaining about export losses and disruptions to international trade and activities.
According to reports in Pakistani media, the UAE government has reportedly frozen visa issuance for Pakistanis, including businessmen, investors and traders.
Officially, UAE authorities maintain there is no visa ban and all categories continue to be processed.
“Yet there appears to be a noticeable gap between the official position and the experience reported by many Pakistani business travellers,” Shahid Anwar, former secretary general of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told The Express Tribune newspaper.
A top business leader said that even Pakistanis with long-standing commercial relationships and real estate owners in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi have been unable to secure visas.
“This has led to important business meetings being cancelled, and many exporters have missed major international exhibitions…,” Usman Shaukat, President of the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told the newspaper.
Ismail Suttar, Founder and Chairman of the Salt Manufacturers Association of Pakistan, said the UAE is currently not issuing visas to Pakistani citizens under any category, creating serious challenges for exporters, traders and business delegations.
He said the reasons behind the restrictions had not been officially communicated, leaving the business community uncertain about future commercial exchanges with one of Pakistan’s key trading partners, according to the newspaper.
Zia ul Arfeen, a member of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said on Tuesday they had sent a letter to the UAE Consul General but had not received any response.
He added that businesses in different cities of Pakistan have been affected.
FPCCI’s former secretary general Anwar said the visa environment for Pakistani citizens travelling to West Asia presented a mixed picture.
While several Gulf countries introduced encouraging measures, Pakistani businesses continue to report significant visa challenges in other nations. This divergence, he said, called for greater diplomatic engagement and closer coordination with trading partners.
Relations between Pakistan and the UAE saw a downturn after the Pakistani government signed a defence pact with Saudi Arabia late last year. In April this year, the UAE government unexpectedly asked Pakistan to return USD 3.5 billion Islamabad owed Abu Dhabi.
