Pakistan slams UK for its slack visa norms
April 10th, 2009 - 4:52 pm ICT by ANILondon, Apr.10 (ANI): Pakistan has criticized Britain for its slack visa norms after it was disclosed that most of those who were nabbed during anti-terror raids in north-west of England were holding student visas.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan said British authorities in were not doing enough to stop the illegal passage of people to the country.
“It is at your end, you have to do something more,” The Daily Express quoted Hasan,as saying.
It can be noted that ten out of twelve arrested students including the one at Liverpool’s John Moores University belonged to Pakistan.
Commenting on this Hasan said: “Pakistani authorities could help carry out background checks on student visa applicants but were not allowed to do so.”
Britain’s Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling has also asked the Brown Government to ‘urgently step up’ background checks on students coming into the country from nations having terror links.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas considered fake colleges as the biggest ‘loophole’ in the immigration system of the country.
According to government data, 9,544 Pakistani nationals were given student visas during 2007-08. It also states that in 2006, 98 percent of applications for extension of leave to remain in Britain were accepted by the authorities while only two percent were discarded. (ANI)
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