PESHAWAR: A senior Peshawar-based Afghan diplomat has requested the Pakistani authorities to set up a separate visa counter for patients at the Torkham border crossing in Khyber tribal district and allow entry of ambulances from Afghanistan to shift critically-ill people to hospitals.

Consular General Najeebullah Ahmadzai called on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani here on Wednesday and discussed bilateral matters, including investment and provision of facilities to Afghan visitors.

An official statement said Mr Ahmadzai requested for establishing a separate visa counter for patients who were shifted from different provinces of Afghanistan to hospitals in Peshawar for treatment.

He said by establishing an exclusive counter for patients at the Torkham crossing would facilitate the verification process. He said immigration staff at Torkham should also allow entry of ambulances from the Afghanistan side to shift critical patients to hospitals without delay.

Mr Ahmadzai informed the speaker that 10,000 to 15,000 visitors made their entry into Pakistan from Afghanistan via Torkham crossing daily and majority of them were seeking treatment because of better diagnostic facilities in Peshawar.

Speaker Mushtaq Ghani assured the Afghan diplomat that he would bring all issues into the notice of the provincial and federal governments. He said interior and foreign ministries would also be informed about the problems being faced by Afghan nationals.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2021