The Senate on Monday passed the Passports (Amendment) Bill 2026. The move came during a debate over official blue passports for lawmakers and their families.
The government also announced plans to introduce a new bill to end this facility for the children of retired senior government officers.
What did the government say?
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told the Senate that the government would introduce new legislation to stop issuing blue passports to the families of retired bureaucrats.
He said that the number of official passports must be controlled to protect Pakistan’s image abroad.
Chaudhry said the government had reduced the number of blue passports from 75,000 to 45,000. Around 30,000 unnecessary or inactive passports had been cancelled.
He added that European countries and Canada had raised concerns about the use of official passports.
Why does Pakistan want to limit blue passports?
The minister said passport security and its value were linked to the dignity of the Pakistani people.
He warned that the number of official passports could affect Pakistan’s international passport ranking and its chances of securing visa-free travel agreements.
Who will be affected by the proposed changes?
Chaudhry said the government had no objection to providing blue passports to members of parliament.
However, he opposed extending this facility to their families. He also questioned the issuance of blue passports to the children of retired Grade-22 officers.
The minister asked lawmakers to withdraw the proposed bill on passport facilities for family members. He said the government would introduce a new bill to address the matter.
What issues did blue passport holders face?
The Senate Standing Committee on Interior recently expressed concern over reports of Pakistani blue passport holders facing difficulties at airports in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These include parliamentarians and diplomats as well.
During a committee meeting, lawmakers highlighted incidents in which Pakistani travellers were allegedly offloaded from flights or subjected to inconsistent immigration procedures despite holding official passports and travelling on official business.
