Pakistan plans visa-free entry with 25 countries in 6 months
In Pakistan blue passport news from Islamabad, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said some states may end visa exemptions unless the blue stock falls from 70,000 to 25,000.
Mohsin Naqvi told a National Assembly interior committee that some countries may end visa exemptions unless blue passports fall to 25,000.
He put the current blue passport total at 70,000 and said 22,000 have been cancelled, with new issuance under a ban.
Visa-free entry deals with Saudi Arabia and the UAE are already in place; a Qatar arrangement is expected soon, with 25 countries targeted in six months.
State Minister Talal Chaudhry said over-issuance of blue passports was hurting efforts to win wider travel facilitation for citizens.
MNA Agha Rafiullah challenged the government’s rationale and asked for the legal basis for blue passport rules.