ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar admitted that the Pakistani passport currently ranks among the lowest passports in the world, with just 35 countries allowing visa–free access.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry blamed the overseas Pakistani lawmakers for ruining the country’s reputation by embracing anti-Pakistan resolutions in their countries’ parliaments.
This revelation was made during the 4th National Assembly session in which the foreign ministry laid down the full details of the passport‘s standing worldwide: “When our own Pakistanis out there are moving for resolutions against Pakistan, how can we expect people to have any respect for our passport?” Chaudhry said.
“You can print passports in shiny green biscuits, but it will not make it any better for the Pakistani passport – the current state of affairs must first be handled in Pakistan before we can expect any common sense or logic from foreigners when dealing with the Pakistani passport.”
‘Green’ passport slips in the world rankings. He noted, however, that sometimes Pakistan’s status in the world rises after the “strong response” to India on May 9, saying, “People are now kissing the hands of Pakistanis abroad.”
The minister also addressed issues of misuse of the passport, saying authorities blocked ill–legally issued Pakistani passports, including some passports that were used by Afghans and others.
“If there is no improvement from within Pakistan on the internal systems, the prestige of the passport will not improve,” he validly stated. FM Dar provided no immediate rebuttal to his cabinet colleague’s claims about the overseas lawmakers
