ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the US have cleared pending visas and on Tuesday agreed on a mechanism to issue visas to officials of both countries.

According to the Foreign Office, about 35 visa applications of Pakistani diplomats, pending since the last many months, had been cleared by the US embassy and in response, Pakistan’s embassy in Washington has cleared the visas of over 400 US officials.

Both the countries have also finalised and agreed on a mechanism for an early clearance of visas to the officials of each country, so that official work is not disturbed. Pakistani diplomats, who were waiting for the visas, will fly to Washington as soon as they have finalised their programmes.

Foreign Office officials said that earlier, the US officials were given a six-week visa and it was extended in Pakistan after their arrival, but now the Pakistani embassy in Washington had been authorised to issue a one-year visa.

The visas of 400 American officials, who were scheduled to come to Pakistan for auditing of the country’s claims under the Coalition Support Fund (CSP), were stopped by Pakistan. app