Pak nationals to get visa on arrival at Wagah from tomorrow

The BSF at Wagah will escort Pakistani nationals to the Indian emigration checkpost, 100 metres inside Indian territory. The application process remains the same; only, they will be decided upon in two hours. ‘‘The police pre-verification check conducted in Indian side to verify the visa application is being done away with, but emigration officials can still reject the application,’’ senior Ministry officials said.

A senior member of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad would be present at the Wagah border checkpost to assist and train officials.

The decision to issue visa on arrival was announced by India in December 2004 when Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran went to Pakistan. The visa on arrival scheme is one of the key Confidence Building Measures (CBM) extended by India to facilitate people-to-people contact and normalisation of relations between the two countries.

Ministry officials said they expect a few hundred visas to be issued in the initial period. ‘‘But it will surely increase as time goes by,’’ they added.