ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Visa-free entry arrangements with 25 countries will be finalised within the next six months, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told a parliamentary committee on Thursday, but said other countries want Pakistan to cut the number of official blue passports it has issued from 70,000 to 25,000.
“The value of the green passport is currently improving, and its rating will advance further over the next six months,” Naqvi told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior, Business Recorder reported.
He said visa-free arrangements had already been agreed with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which cover holders of diplomatic and official passports, and that a similar arrangement with Qatar was expected soon.
70,000 blue passports
Naqvi said some countries had indicated they could end visa-exemption agreements unless Pakistan reduced the number of blue passports to 25,000. “Visa-free entry cannot be secured for 70,000 blue passports,” he said, adding that most countries first ask how many have been issued before considering such agreements.
He said 22,000 blue passports had already been cancelled and a ban had been placed on new issuance, while parliamentarians were now being issued blue passports for three years. He rejected the impression that lawmakers held most of them. The decision required collective agreement in parliament because of the ongoing negotiations, international commitments and the planned move to e-passports, he said.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said the excessive issuance of blue passports had undermined Pakistan’s efforts to secure better travel facilitation for its citizens.
