Senate rejects bill to restrict diplomatic passports for officials
The Senate on Monday rejected a motion to introduce the Passports (Amendment) Bill 2026. The private member's bill sought to limit diplomatic passports for ministers of state, advisers, special assistants and senior bureaucrats.
- Senate rejected the motion to introduce the Passports (Amendment) Bill 2026 on Monday
- The bill would have ended automatic diplomatic passports for ministers of state, advisers, special assistants, federal secretaries and director generals
- Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry opposed it, saying it curtailed the cabinet's authority
The Senate on Monday rejected a motion to introduce the Passports (Amendment) Bill 2026, a private member's bill that aimed to restrict who can be issued a diplomatic passport.
The bill was moved by Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, together with Senators Samina Mumtaz Zehri and Saifullah Abro. Daily Times described Rehman as a PTI senator.
Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry opposed the bill. According to Daily Times, he said the mover was bringing an amendment to the authority of the cabinet. TechJuice reported that he said the bill sought to curtail that authority.
Faisal Rehman replied that the bill concerned diplomatic passports, which he said only ministers should hold, and that they should not be distributed widely. PPP Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro argued that a minister of state is also a representative of parliament.
The bill proposed amending the Passports Act 1974 by inserting a new Section 12A. Under it, no diplomatic passport could be issued, re-issued or renewed to a minister of state, an adviser or special assistant to the prime minister, a federal secretary other than the foreign secretary, or a director general, simply because of the office held.
Anyone already holding such a passport would have had to surrender it to the prescribed authority within 30 days of the act coming into force. The bill said these officeholders could still obtain or keep ordinary or official passports where otherwise eligible, and that any independent entitlement from another office, appointment or diplomatic assignment would be unaffected.
According to Daily Times, the bill's statement of objects and reasons noted that the Passports Rules 2021 allow diplomatic passports for various categories of office holders, including state ministers. It described a diplomatic passport as a special travel document of the state whose issuance should correspond to diplomatic or state functions rather than operate automatically as a privilege of rank. It said the change would not restrict official duties or official foreign travel, and aimed at a clear distinction between diplomatic functions and political status.
Why it matters
The proposal concerned who among Pakistan's ministers, advisers and senior officials can hold diplomatic passports, a matter of public privileges and accountability. The Senate's rejection leaves the current rules under the Passports Rules 2021 unchanged.
