New Pakistani visa controls leave patients from Afghanistan without treatment

People from Afghanistan travelling to neighbouring Pakistan for medical treatment are reporting increasing difficulties accessing hospitals after the Pakistan government introduced new visa controls last month.

Last year the Pakistan government imposed restrictions on Afghans’ access to local hospitals, forcing them to pay for treatment in private hospitals. And last month the authorities in Pakistan ended the free border crossing that patients from Afghanistan had used, after the killing of a Pakistan Army officer in Afghanistan on 14 June.

Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s defence …