British Secretary for Home Affairs to visit Pak to sort out visa issues

September 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - The renewed architecture of India-US bilateral dialogue and preparations for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's State visit to the US in November were the focus of a day of hectic diplomacy by Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. Rao Monday met Deputy Secretary of State James B.

September 17th, 2009 ISTANBUL - In a unique landmark exercise, the Indian Government has undertaken a massive action plan to help over 150,000 illegal Indian immigrants acquire Italian citizenship within the next fortnight. Revealing this information exclusively to ANI TV, Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said the Italian Government has given New Delhi fifteen days to formalise the required documentation.

September 10th, 2009 LONDON - British anti-terror border controls were described as wholly inadequate after a newspaper revealed that only 29 out of 66,000 Pakistani immigration applicants were interviewed by British officials. Visa checks on immigrants from Pakistan were condemned as a sham after the Daily Mail said official figures showed that just 29 out of 66,000 applicants were interviewed by officials since Britain put in place a supposedly rigorous system last October.

September 10th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan-based terrorists are exploiting Britain's shoddy visa system to come to the country. Pakistan is considered by Britain as the No.1 base for Islamic extremists brainwashing potential terrorists.

August 22nd, 2009 THIMPU - Visiting Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram called on Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck here on Saturday.

August 12th, 2009 LONDON - A group of leading Pakistani politicians, businessmen and a band of pipers were refused entry into Scotland by the UK Border Agency, causing embarrassment for the Glasgow City Council. The UK Border Agency turned down up to 65 visa applications from three separate groups planning to visit Glasgow, The Times reports.

August 3rd, 2009 LAHORE - A large number of Pakistani students still seek admission in universities abroad and their preferred destination remains the UK, even after they were held and deported by British law enforcement agencies. Nine Pakistani students were held by the agency in the UK on suspicion of terrorism and later released and deported without being charged.

July 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's just concluded visit to India has resulted in significant expansion of the bilateral and multilateral relationship between the two nations, according to a senior US official. "What you are seeing in terms of the agenda is a very significant expansion of the relationship and the issues that will be subject to our bilateral and multilateral relationships going forward," Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J.

July 4th, 2009 LONDON - British immigration officials in Pakistan devote just 11 minutes to scrutinize and pass a visa application in a country considered to be the hotbed of terrorism, the Telegraph has revealed. The revelation that officials are also not checking supporting evidence in thousands of applications from Pakistan and Afghanistan has fuelled security concerns.

June 21st, 2009 LONDON - Massive irregularities have been unearthed in Britain's immigration system with a shocking disclosure that more than one in every three successful visa applications from Pakistani citizens "lacked credibility". According to a secret internal report, which has been now leaked to The Sunday Times, travel permits were given to thousands of Pakistanis to visit Britain without even the most basic checks and investigations.

June 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William J. Burns will visit India June 10-13 to "discuss a broad agenda to further strengthen partnership" between the two countries after the return of the Congress-led coalition government in India.

May 7th, 2009 LONDON - Three Indian illegal immigrants are reported to be behind the biggest visa scam in British history. According to The Telegraph, they were so confident of fooling the Home Office that one of them offered their services on a no win, no fee basis, a court has heard.

April 29th, 2009 LONDON - The British Parliament's Home Affairs Committee has slammed new rules that deny heroic Gurkha veterans their right to stay in the country. The Gordon Brown Government faces a Commons defeat thanks to a growing Labour revolt.

April 21st, 2009 LONDON - Students of Pakistani origin are being granted British visas on the basis of a telephone interview, even as investigation teams probe different aspects of a crackdown involving twelve alleged Pakistan 'student' terrorists. The Telegraph reports that British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has admitted that some visa applications are being decided over the telephone.

April 18th, 2009 GLASGOW - British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said that Pakistan's internal problems are a major factor for the spread of terrorism in the country, not the presence of United States and British forces in Afghanistan. In a meeting with the Muslim community in Glasgow, Miliband said Pakistan faced more threats from internal terrorism, as it was facing various lingual, ethnic and sectarian problems Islamabad's democratic institutions could not be strengthened by military rules in the country, he added.