Foreign Office on Thursday rejected reports on a potential US travel ban on Pakistani nationals as “speculative” and said Islamabad had not received any official indication of such measures.
Foreign Office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan addressed the question during a weekly media briefing after a Reuters The report last week suggested that the United States under President Donald Trump could impose new travel restrictions for Pakistan and Afghanistan following a government review of security and control risks.
“From now on, all this is speculative and therefore does not guarantee an answer,” Khan said. “So far, we have not been given any indication of such a ban on Pakistan nation.”
The statement came in the midst of reports that the Pakistani ambassador to Turkmenistan KK Ahsan Wagan was denied entry in the United States this week. The Foreign Office clarified that Wagan traveled for personal reasons and was not eligible for diplomatic immunity. Officials examined the incident.
Shafqat Ali Khan added that Pakistan’s Secretary of State and its mission in Washington was in regular contact with US authorities to collect further details.
On January 20, President Trump issued an executive order that mandated stricter security vetting for foreigners seeking entry into the United States.
The order required US cabinet officials to submit a list before March 12 of countries considered to have inadequate screening measures, which may lead to partial or full travel spensions.
The Reuters The report also noted that the potential restrictions could affect tens of thousands of Afghans who had been approved for resettlement in the United States, including those on special immigrant visas facing the risks of Taliban Renovation due to their work for the United States during the two decade-long war in Afghanistan.
