I HAVE been running a small IT business in the UAE since 2003. I have flown more than 200 times since then. As a Pakistani passport-holder, I do have challenges in getting visas and travelling around the world for business purpose. It is very rare that I was treated with respect at immigration counters around the world.

In my experience, the UAE, Qatar, the UK and Germany are the friendliest and respecting countries.

But I never faced a situation where a consulate tells me that Pakistanis are not allowed to enter the country. I was extremely surprised and embarrassed when I was told this by the Kuwaiti consulate. I wanted to travel to Kuwait for three days to train some IT engineers. But the consulate told me that visas had been closed for Pakistanis and that I should come after a month.

I am wondering what wrong we Pakistanis did to Kuwait and why there is a visa ban on Pakistanis. I hope things get better soon for Pakistanis. Or maybe I was just unlucky.

NABEEL AHMED Dubai

Opinion

Editorial

Punishing evaders
02 May, 2024

Punishing evaders

THE FBR’s decision to block mobile phone connections of more than half a million individuals who did not file...
Engaging Riyadh
Updated 02 May, 2024

Engaging Riyadh

It must be stressed that to pull in maximum foreign investment, a climate of domestic political stability is crucial.
Freedom to question
02 May, 2024

Freedom to question

WITH frequently suspended freedoms, increasing violence and few to speak out for the oppressed, it is unlikely that...
Wheat protests
Updated 01 May, 2024

Wheat protests

The government should withdraw from the wheat trade gradually, replacing the existing market support mechanism with an effective new one over the next several years.
Polio drive
01 May, 2024

Polio drive

THE year’s fourth polio drive has kicked off across Pakistan, with the aim to immunise more than 24m children ...
Workers’ struggle
Updated 01 May, 2024

Workers’ struggle

Yet the struggle to secure a living wage — and decent working conditions — for the toiling masses must continue.