Govt allows Virgin Atlantic to commence flights between Pakistan and UK

The Federal Cabinet has allowed British airline Virgin Atlantic to start flights between Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

The British carrier last month announced that it will start services between Britain and Pakistan in December.

"We're thrilled to announce that from December, we'll be flying direct to Pakistan," said a tweet from Virgin. "We'll have flights from Heathrow to both Lahore and Islamabad, plus direct service from Manchester to Islamabad," the tweet said.

The approval comes after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) banned two Pakistani airlines from flying to the bloc for six months, while Britain and the United States have also revoked landing rights for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

Various global safety boards have also downgraded the national carrier's rating over aviation safety risks and several countries have grounded Pakistani pilots.

Visa Policy for Afghanistan

Furthermore, the cabinet has approved the proposed visa policy for Afghanistan. Under the new visa policy acquiring visas will be easy for Afghan visitors with multiple entry visit visas and long-term business, investment, and student visas.

Visit visa will be issued for one year with multiple entries. While you will also get a business visa for 5 years which will be extendable in Pakistan.

A new category of health visa is also introduced which will be issued on the border, informed Mohammad Sadiq Prime Minister's Special Representative for Afghanistan.