BANGKOK, Feb 7: Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai will visit Pakistan next month to prepare the way for a trip by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, officials said on Thursday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Rattakit Manathat said Surakiart would also address the plight of Thai students in Pakistan who face being expelled in March under new visa rules.

Some 300 Thai students, mostly Muslims, who are studying in Pakistan on tourist visas, will be affected by the new provision which requires them to hold proper student visas, or face arrest and a jail sentence.

Rattakit gave no date for Thaksin’s visit, and said the timing of Surakiart’s trip was still to be finalized.—AFP