ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday expressed the hope that new e-visa policy would stimulate economic diplomacy.

In a statement, Shah Mahmood Qureshi also expressed satisfaction on the success of new visa regime and said that it was yielding desired results.

“People are utilising the e-visa service for business, tourism and education purposes,” he said.

He said e-visa policy would prove to be a milestone for promotion of tourism and strengthening of the economy.

According to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) records, 9,931 e-visa applications have been received so far, of which 7,160 persons were immediately granted visa. Meanwhile, 2,246 applications are under consideration, while 325 have been rejected on technical grounds.

On January 31 the following year, the then information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain had said that tourists of 175 countries would be provided e-visa facility. “People from 98 countries can take advantage of the business visa facility,” he had said adding that the government had opened Pakistan to boost tourism in the country.