JALALABAD ( HALBEEG NEWS ) – At least 15 Afghans die in a stampede while jostling to secure visa from the Pakistan consulate in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday.
The stampede occurred in a stadium in Jalalabad city where thousands of Afghans had gathered to secure visas from the consulate.
According to officials, 11 out of 15 killed were women and several senior citizens were wounded.
Officials added that the Afghans citizens had gathered to collect tokens needed to apply for a visa to travel to Pakistan.
The Pakistan consulate had resumed issuing visas last week after a seven-month pause because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Thousands of Afghans from Nangarhar and other nearby provinces had arrived since the early morning to apply for medical visas or to visit relatives.
In a tweet, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, said he was “deeply saddened” at the reports of casualties in Jalalabad. “We sympathize with the families of victims,” he wrote.
Khan said the Pakistani government is “engaged with Afghan authorities for better facilitation of visa applicants”.
“We are committed to continuing visa issuance to Afghan nationals under new visa policy while making the process smoother and streamlined at our end,” he posted.
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