Kabul (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan’s Embassy in Kabul has denied any connection to reports of a black market for Pakistani visas in Afghanistan, saying it remains committed to a visa system that is transparent, fair and accessible to Afghan applicants.
The embassy’s response, shared with Arab News, rejected claims that it works through private agents or travel companies to process visa applications or collect money from applicants. It said no official intermediaries had been appointed for that purpose.
“The embassy has no official agents, intermediaries, or affiliated travel companies authorised to collect money,” the statement said.
Pakistani officials said the official visa fee is publicly listed and must be paid directly through the formal system by credit card. The embassy acknowledged that many Afghan applicants do not have access to credit cards and often turn to local agents for assistance with the online payment process. It said, however, that such assistance does not amount to authorisation and that no private party is permitted to collect visa fees on the mission’s behalf.
Sayed Khizar Ali, the embassy’s press counsellor, said Pakistan remained committed to “a transparent, fair, and accessible visa system for our Afghan brothers”.
The denial followed reporting by Arab News that some Afghan applicants had been relying on private agents and paying far above the official visa fee to obtain Pakistani travel documents more quickly. In its response, the embassy maintained that any additional money charged by private agents was illegal, unofficial and entirely outside its control.
The statement sets out Pakistan’s position clearly, the embassy does not recognise private intermediaries as part of the visa process, and any unauthorised payments demanded from applicants are not sanctioned by the mission.
