ISLAMABAD: The Government of Iran has decided to halt double entry visas for Pakistani pilgrims going to Iraq for observing Arba’een to avoid inconvenience due to no permission for entry from land routes into Iraq.
The decision was made to avoid pilgrims’ inconvenience due to no access or entry into Iraq via land routes which was the host country for managing Arba’een (the religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura), a press release issued by the Iranian Embassy on Thursday said.
The embassy said,”Whereas, the neighbouring and brotherly country of Iraq hosts the Arba’een ceremony, continuous efforts have been made to issue visas of the Islamic Republic of Iran in coordination with the host country in such a way that the pilgrims do not stuck on the way and at the borders. Recently, the Iraqi government has announced that Pakistani pilgrims can only enter Iraq by air and through the airports of Baghdad and Najaf.
“As you know, pursuant to the previous years, the diplomatic missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Pakistan, by holding pilgrims of Arba’een-e-Hussaini (AS) from the neighbourly and brotherly country of Pakistan at high esteem, have been fully prepared well before time to provide any facilities and cooperation, including issuance of single and double entry visas for Iran without any delay.”
It said the Iranian government in that regard had equipped all its land and air borders, and provided the necessary facilities for the regular movement of respected pilgrims.
However, in order to avoid any inconvenience and problems, the Iranian diplomatic missions in Pakistan had postponed the issuance of double entry visas for Pakistani pilgrims until the issuance of a land travel permit by the Iragi authorities, the press added.
The embassy said as soon as it received the permission to accept the respected Pakistani pilgrims through the land borders of Iraq, it would issue the desired visas to the pilgrims in the shortest possible time.
