Pakistan Passport Ranked Fourth Weakest Globally
Islamabad–Pakistan’s passport has been ranked the fourth weakest in the world in the latest Henley Passport Index, ahead of only Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
Pakistan placed 101st among 199 passports assessed in the index. Pakistani passport holders can travel to 29 destinations without obtaining a visa in advance, either through visa-free access, a visa on arrival or an electronic travel authorization.
The Henley Passport Index compares passport access across 227 travel destinations and ranks countries based on the number of places their citizens can enter without securing a prior visa.
According to Geo News, Pakistani citizens have visa-free access to destinations including Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Vanuatu, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Haiti, the Cook Islands, Rwanda, Micronesia, Montserrat and The Gambia.
Visa-on-arrival access is available in countries and territories including Mozambique, Cambodia, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Burundi, Senegal, Comoros, Djibouti, the Maldives, Sierra Leone, Nepal, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Timor-Leste and Tuvalu.
Pakistani travelers can also obtain electronic travel authorizations for Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Kenya.
The ranking comes amid continued concerns in Pakistan over visa restrictions and rejection rates in several Gulf countries.
In November, Pakistan’s Additional Interior Secretary Salman Chaudhry told a Senate committee that the United Arab Emirates was issuing visas primarily to holders of diplomatic and official passports.
“If a ban is imposed, getting it removed would be difficult,” Dawn quoted Chaudhry as saying.
Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, chair of the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights, also said officials had linked the restrictions to concerns about criminal activity involving some Pakistani travelers.
Pakistani authorities have raised visa access issues with Gulf governments during bilateral meetings. Reports have also said citizens from several Pakistani cities faced tighter visa scrutiny in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries over concerns involving begging, smuggling, drug trafficking and human trafficking. (Source: IANS)
