ISLAMABAD, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Wednesday expressed its deep grief and sadness over the loss of lives in a stampede incident in Jalalabad city, the capital of eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province.

Eleven people were killed and 13 others injured in a stampede in Jalalabad on Wednesday, said a statement of the Nangarhar provincial government.

"We have received with sorrow and grief the news about the loss of precious Afghan lives and injuries in a stampede at a stadium in Jalalabad, several kilometers away from the Consulate General of Pakistan, where applicants for Pakistani visas were being gathered under the arrangements of the provincial Afghan authorities," the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan said.

Given the large number of visa applications, the government of Pakistan has recently announced a new visa policy to facilitate Afghan nationals, said a statement from the ministry.

It added that the "Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul and the sub-missions in Jalalabad, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif are now issuing multiple entry visas to Afghan applicants intending to visit Pakistan for family, business, medical treatment, education and other purposes."

"While the embassy of Pakistan and the sub-missions in Afghanistan are committed to implement this new visa policy and to extend maximum facilitation to the visa applicants, we would request the understanding and cooperation of the Afghan people as well as the Afghan authorities to ensure better and secure management of the visa applicants," said the foreign ministry. Enditem

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