Pakistan's Senate has cleared a bill that would let ex-parliamentarians from either chamber keep their official blue passports even if they did not finish a full term. The measure still needs the National Assembly, the lower house, to approve it before it takes effect. A separate proposal to extend the same privilege to former lawmakers' spouses and children under 28 was pulled after objections from members of the governing benches.
What the amendment would do
Blue passports are reserved for a narrow set of people: top constitutional posts, state and court officials, senior civil servants and eligible relatives. They allow entry without a visa to 55 countries, 22 of them in Europe.
Senator Abdul Qadir moved both bills. The amendment, which changes the Passports Act of 1974, would add a new section, 3-A, letting a former parliamentarian keep and use an official passport after leaving office. That would apply whether the person completed a whole term or only filled a vacancy for the rest of someone else's term.
At present, a National Assembly member qualifies once sworn in, while a senator must complete the full six-year term. Under the Passport Rules 2021, a former lawmaker needs at least one complete term in either house. The explanatory note says the change would place former lawmakers on equal footing with other senior office-holders and treat people who served at the top level alike.
Children's proposal dropped and official reactions
The Senate also dropped a bill that would have given blue passports to former lawmakers' spouses and children under 28. A Senate committee had approved that proposal in July, but it drew criticism for extending an official travel privilege to relatives. Tallal Chaudhry, the state minister for interior, had earlier said steps would be taken to restrict the documents to official work overseas.
Chaudhry told the Senate on Monday that the government had no objection to lawmakers receiving the passports, but had concerns about extending them to family members. He said the number of official blue passports had dropped from 75,000 to 45,000 after concerns from European countries and Canada, and that about 30,000 unnecessary or inactive documents had been cancelled. He added that a high volume of these documents could make other countries less willing to grant visa-free access, and that legislation to withdraw the facility for children of retired bureaucrats would come soon.
Azam Nazeer Tarar, the law minister, urged tighter regulation, saying official passports exist for government work. He also wants the six-year service rule for senators dropped so that both houses follow the same standard. PML-N Senator Abid Sher Ali objected to a requirement that lawmakers obtain a no-objection certificate, known as an NOC, from the interior ministry before receiving blue passports. He said the condition had not applied earlier, called it a breach of privilege, and said he would move a privilege motion.
What happens next
The bill now goes to the National Assembly. Until both houses approve it, the existing eligibility rules under the Passport Rules 2021 continue to apply. The government has said it will soon introduce its own legislation on the children of retired bureaucrats, but no date was given.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Senate ne aik bill manzoor kiya hai jis ke tehat wo ex-lawmakers jo poori muddat mukammal nahi kar sake, woh bhi blue passport rakh sakein ge. Yeh bill ab qaumi assembly se manzoor hoga tab qanoon banega. Aam logon ke liye is ka seedha asar kam hai, lekin sarkari blue passports 75,000 se kam ho kar 45,000 reh gaye hain. Bachon ko ye suhulat dene ki tajweez wapas le li gayi hai.
