After UK, US also suspends visa service in Pak

Islamabad, Sept 25 : After the UK, the US too has suspended its visa service in Pakistan for an indefinite period, in the wake of Marriott hotel suicide attack in which 60 people lost their lives and more than 250 were injured.

Confirming this, US embassy spokesperson in Islamabad said that only those applicants who were called for interviews today would be entertained today, and this service will not be available tomorrow onwards, reported The News.

According to the paper, US government has also issued a fresh advisory for its citizens to remain watchful in Pakistan, and directed them not to travel and stay unnecessarily in Pakistan.

This is the second time when a foreign country has suspended its visa facility in Pakistan after Saturday's devastating hotel blast in which 60 persons were killed. The British High Commission had yesterday stopped entertaining any more visa applications as its commercial partner Gerry's International had stopped its country wide operations citing "security reasons".

"Our commercial partner Gerry's International took the decision to temporarily close down its visa application centres in Pakistan after the deadly Marriott Hotel blast on September 20," BHC spokeswoman Jennifer Wilkes was quoted as saying.

She said that it was not the BHC's decision, but that of its commercial partner to suspend its operations until law and order improved.

Gerry's was monitoring the situation and would make a decision to reopen offices after reviewing the situation, she added.

Besides, the British Airways (BA) had 'indefinitely' cancelled all flights to Islamabad citing "security concerns" after the hotel attack.

ANI