Defence minister hopes US travel ban issue to be resolved within week or ten days
\n ISLAMABAD
\nMinister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Saturday that the federal government was making efforts to avoid potential US travel restrictions on Pakistan, terming the Trump administration\u2019s expected move \u201cinappropriate\u201d.
\n\u201c[The] government has raised the issue…it will be resolved within a week or ten days,\u201d the defence minister said while speaking to Geo News.
\nThe Trump administration is considering issuing sweeping travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters.
\nPakistan has been included in a group that would be considered for partial suspension of visa issuance if their governments \u201cdo not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days\u201d.
\nThe memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups. The first group of 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea among others, would be set for a full visa suspension.
\nIn the second group, five countries \u2014 Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan \u2014 would face partial suspensions that would impact tourist and student visas as well as other immigrant visas, with some exceptions.
\nIn the third group, a total of 26 countries, including Belarus, Pakistan and Turkmenistan among others would be considered for a partial suspension of US visa issuance if their governments \u201cdo not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days\u201d, the memo said.
\nA US official speaking on the condition of anonymity cautioned there could be changes on the list and that it was yet to be approved by the administration, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
\nAsif, while speaking to Geo News today, responded to a question about the Jaffar Express hijacking, saying that he doesn\u2019t think the extradition of Sharifullah, who was responsible for killing 13 US service members during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, has \u201canything to do with the incident\u201d.
\nMohammad Sharifullah alias Jafar, a Daesh-Khorasan operative, was arrested by Pakistan on intelligence provided by America\u2019s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as reported by a news agency.
\nHis arrest was announced by US President Trump who thanked the government of Pakistan for helping apprehend the \u201cmonster\u201d and added that it was \u201ca very huge day for the affected families.
\nThe defence minister noted that the terrorists may be upset over Sharifullah\u2019s extradition to the United States.
\nMeanwhile, he castigated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for carrying out propaganda on the Jaffer Express hijacking, noting that party founder Imran Khan has not yet condemned the incident even after days.
\n\u201cImran writes three-four-page letters from jail and articles for newspapers but does not condemn national tragedy,\u201d he said, adding that this means the incarcerated PTI founder stands by the terrorists.
\n\u201cTheir party\u2019s motto has now become \u2018No Pakistan if there is no Khan,\u2019\u201d he added.
\nResponding to a question, the minister said PTI has made participation in the all-parties conference (APC) conditional. \u201cPTI demands for bringing PTI founder on payroll,\u201d he added.
\nTwo days earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged all the political forces to sit together to devise a strategy to eradicate the menace of terrorism and bring economic stability to the country.
\nStressing the need for national unity to deal with terrorism, the premier announced to hold a meeting of all the political stakeholders after consultation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Defence minister hopes US travel ban issue to be resolved within week or ten days ISLAMABAD Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Saturday that the federal government was making efforts to avoid potential US travel restrictions on Pakistan, terming the Trump administration\u2019s expected move \u201cinappropriate\u201d. \u201c[The] government has raised the issue…it will be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-467194","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n