KARACHI: The visa waiver for diplomatic and official Pakistani passport holders entering the Uni­ted Arab Emirates has been activated at all airports, a month after Dep­uty Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan had signed an MoU for the exemption.

Mr Dar made this announcement on Sunday, explaining that Pakistan and the UAE had agreed on multiple visa waivers for diplomatic and official Pakistani passports, and vice versa.

In a post on X, the deputy premier hailed the decision between ‘our two brotherly countries’. “I have been informed by the UAE authorities that the visa waiver for diplomatic and official Pakis­tani passports entering the United Arab Emirates has been activated, effective July 25, 2025, at all UAE airports,” he wrote.

“We agreed [on] mutual visa waivers on diplomatic and official passports between our two brotherly countries and we both signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to make this arrangement effective and operative after 30 days of the signing,” he added.

According to Mr Dar, reciprocal arrangements have also been activated for Emirati nationals at all Pakistani airports.

Earlier this month, UAE’s Interior Minister Lt Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan assured “full support” in expediting visas for Pakistani citizens.

His statement came during a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Mohsin Naqvi.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2025