KARACHI, Jan 13: Student visas issued to Pakistanis has increased up to five times during the last few years and it touched 8,000-plus in 2006 alone, said British Deputy High Commissioner Hamish Daniel on Saturday.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the 8th Sheffield International Conference `Diagnostic Imaging’ at the Aga Khan University, Mr Daniel said over 50 representatives from different UK-based educational institutions visited Pakistan in 2006 and received tremendous response.

The British deputy high commissioner, appreciating the participation of UK-based medical experts in the moot, mentioned that it was the largest number of any delegation from the UK to Karachi in the recent years.

The conference, he said, being attended by junior professionals as well as equally competent and experienced Pakistanis, as their British counterparts, would lead to interesting and stimulating deliberations, sharing of knowledge, skills and experience ultimately enhancing intellectual capacities and grooming manpower.

This, without being very precise, he said was needed in both the United Kingdom and Pakistan that have experienced their respective share of drastic changes during the past 60 years, particularly during the previous five years.

He referred to the fact that there were no fewer than 800,000 Pakistani origin Britons, well settled in the UK, while a huge number of visa applications by Pakistanis were received annually for the UK.—APP