$25 Visa Sold for Up to $2,000: How the Black Market is Holding Afghan Lives Hostage
Kabul – Exclusive Report
Imagine a cancer patient or a child with a serious heart condition who desperately needs treatment in Pakistan. Instead of paying the official visa fee of roughly 1,500 Afghanis (about $25), they are forced to pay between $1,300 and $2,000 on the black market. This is not fiction — it is the harsh reality facing thousands of Afghan families today.
Widespread complaints and reports from Afghan citizens reveal that the process of obtaining a Pakistani visa has turned into a deeply chaotic and corrupt system dominated by an organized black market. What should be a simple administrative procedure has become a severe financial and humanitarian crisis for vulnerable families in need of medical care, security, or urgent travel.
Official Fee vs. Black Market Reality
The official fee for a Pakistani visa for Afghan nationals is approximately 1,500 Afghanis (around $25), processed through a digital online system. Yet in practice, desperate applicants must go through specific tour agencies and intermediaries. Current black market prices are:
• Medical visas: $1,300 – $1,500
• Tourist/regular visas: Up to $1,500 – $2,000
This represents more than a 50-fold increase over the official rate, leaving many families financially devastated.
Even Sicker Patients Face Extra Humiliation
The situation is particularly cruel for those with medical visas. Visas that were previously issued as multiple-entry (valid for three months) and relatively cheaper have now largely been reduced to single-entry only, with dramatically higher prices.
Applicants report that even those holding valid medical visas and complete medical documents are often confronted at Islamabad Airport with demands for an extra bribe of up to $200. If they cannot pay, they are deported back to Afghanistan despite their critical condition — forcing them to repeat the entire expensive and exhausting process.
This practice has turned a journey for treatment into a cycle of humiliation, financial ruin, and life-threatening delays.
Kam Air Monopoly and Tour Agency Cartel
Another major source of frustration is the near-monopoly on direct flights between Kabul and Islamabad, operated almost exclusively by Kam Air. Passengers claim they are forced to purchase expensive round-trip tickets from this airline — otherwise, they are not allowed to travel.
Key complaints include:
• Only 2–3 flights operate daily on this route.
• Many travelers have no intention of returning; they either stay in Pakistan or continue to a third country.
• Visa applications not submitted through “approved” tour agencies are either left pending for months or rejected after 6 to 12 months.
• Even canceling an application incurs heavy financial penalties.
Critics ask: Where is all this money going? Is there involvement or tacit approval from Afghanistan’s current authorities in this clear exploitation and monopoly?
The lack of competition in both air travel and visa facilitation services has created perfect conditions for financial abuse and cartel-like behavior.
Devastating Consequences
The continuation of this system is causing serious harm:
• Crushing economic pressure on poor and vulnerable families
• Strengthening of organized corruption and the black market
• Erosion of public trust in official and legal processes
• Turning a basic human need — access to healthcare or safety — into a profit-making machine for a few
In a country where many Afghans must travel for life-saving treatment or to escape insecurity, imposing thousands of dollars in costs for a visa that officially costs almost nothing is widely viewed as double injustice.
Urgent Calls for Action
Affected citizens and civil society activists are demanding immediate and transparent investigation by responsible authorities in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. They call for:
• Strict oversight and transparency in the visa issuance process
• Breaking the monopoly in air services and visa facilitation
• Creating healthy competition and fair access
This report is based on direct testimonies from applicants, numerous registered complaints, and information from aware sources. It requires an official, clear, and swift response from the relevant bodies.
Until concrete action is taken, the black market continues to hold the lives and hopes of thousands of Afghans hostage.