Govt making efforts to avoid looming US travel ban on Pakistan: Khawaja Asif

• Asif says train incident not linked with Sharifullah's extradition.
• Accuses PTI of doing propaganda on Jaffer Express hijacking.
• "PTI's motto now becomes 'No Pakistan if there is no Khan'".  

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Saturday that the federal government was making efforts to avoid potential US travel restrictions on Pakistan, terming the Trump administration's expected move "inappropriate".

"[The] government has raised the issue...it will be resolved within a week or ten days," the defence minister said while speaking to Geo News.

The Trump administration is considering issuing sweeping travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters.

Pakistan has been included in a group that would be considered for partial suspension of visa issuance if their governments "do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days".

The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups. The first group of 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea among others, would be set for a full visa suspension.

In the second group, five countries — Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan — would face partial suspensions that would impact tourist and student visas as well as other immigrant visas, with some exceptions.

In the third group, a total of 26 countries, including Belarus, Pakistan and Turkmenistan among others would be considered for a partial suspension of US visa issuance if their governments "do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days", the memo said.

A US official speaking on the condition of anonymity cautioned there could be changes on the list and that it was yet to be approved by the administration, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Asif, while speaking to Geo News today, responded to a question about the Jaffar Express hijacking, saying that he doesn’t think the extradition of Sharifullah, who was responsible for killing 13 US service members during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, has "anything to do with the incident".

Mohammad Sharifullah alias Jafar, a Daesh-Khorasan operative, was arrested by Pakistan on intelligence provided by America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as reported by a news agency.

His arrest was announced by US President Trump who thanked the government of Pakistan for helping apprehend the "monster" and added that it was "a very huge day for the affected families.

The defence minister noted that the terrorists may be upset over Sharifullah's extradition to the United States.

Meanwhile, he castigated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for carrying out propaganda on the Jaffer Express hijacking, noting that party founder Imran Khan has not yet condemned the incident even after days.

"Imran writes three-four-page letters from jail and articles for newspapers but does not condemn national tragedy," he said, adding that this means the incarcerated PTI founder stands by the terrorists.

"Their party's motto has now become 'No Pakistan if there is no Khan,'" he added.

Responding to a question, the minister said PTI has made participation in the all-parties conference (APC) conditional. "PTI demands for bringing PTI founder on payroll," he added.

Two days earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged all the political forces to sit together to devise a strategy to eradicate the menace of terrorism and bring economic stability to the country.

Stressing the need for national unity to deal with terrorism, the premier announced to hold a meeting of all the political stakeholders after consultation.