Pakistan has added Turkey among five countries for visa-free travel to the country, officials confirmed.
The move was officially announced by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday 14 March.
However, the decision was first mentioned by Chaudhery Fawad Hussain a few days earlier at the opening ceremony of Anadolu Agency’s office in Islamabad.
Mr Fawad said: “I am proud to announce today that we have approved the new visa regime initially for five countries and Turkey was included in the visa free list.”
However, the four other countries were not mentioned by the Pakistani official.
Turkish citizens can now to attain visas upon arrival to Pakistan without having to apply in advance.
Mr Fawad explained that Turkey received special status under Pakistan’s new tourism policy.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
He added: “President Erdogan stood behind Pakistan in current crises with India and we are extremely grateful to President Erdogan and Turkish government.”
In January, Islamabad announced a decision to allow on-arrival visas for 50 countries and electronic visas for 175 countries with the aim of increasing tourism.
Turkey’s ambassador to Pakistan, Mustafa Yurdakul, welcomed the decision, saying it would boost the interest of Turkish businesses and entrepreneurs to invest in Pakistan and improve diplomatic and economic ties.
Mr Yurdakul added: “Pakistan is a beautiful country, the people are hospitable and the country has a lot of secret beauties to discover.”
