UAE issues stapled visa to residents of Pak-occupied Kashmir
The United Arab Emirates has begun issuing "stapled visas" to residents of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, according to a Pakistan Observer report carried by Indian news agencies in May 2011 — a practice that was new, since visas for the region's residents had previously been stamped on passports as usual.
The case that made the news was a prominent one: PoK "prime minister" Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, who held a Pakistani diplomatic passport, was issued a stapled visit visa by the UAE embassy in Islamabad, the report said.
Why a stapled visa matters
A stapled visa — printed on a separate sheet and stapled into the passport rather than stamped on its pages — is a quiet diplomatic signal. It lets the issuing country grant travel while avoiding any endorsement of the territorial claims attached to the passport.
India knew the script well. China had sparked a diplomatic row with New Delhi the previous year by issuing stapled visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir. The UAE's move put Abu Dhabi, however inadvertently, into the same disputed territory — this time on the other side of the Line of Control.
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