Pakistani passport
Encyclopedia
Pakistani passports are issued to the citizens of Pakistan
for the purpose of international travel. Directorate General Immigration and Passports of Ministry of Interior is responsible for issuing the passport. Pakistan's Machine Readable and biometric passports are currently being issued from regional passports offices and Pakistani embassies.
In 2004, Pakistan became among one of the first countries in the world to issue the biometric passports, which are according to the publisher compliant with ICAO standards and dubbed Multi-biometric e-Passports.. They do not carry the "chip inside" symbol (
), which is mandatory for ICAO-standard electronic passports. More than 7 million passports have been issued until nowThe passports are printed by the governmental agency NADRA.
Diplomatic passports are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to diplomats and other entitled categories .
Official passports are issued to Senators, Members of the National Assembly, provincial ministers, judges of the supreme/high courts, officers serving with the governments when abroad on official assignments etc..
A special Hajj passport was issued to those making a hajj pilgrimage to Mecca
, Saudi Arabia
. They are however no longer issued, as ordinary passport are used for Hajj pilgrimage.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
for the purpose of international travel. Directorate General Immigration and Passports of Ministry of Interior is responsible for issuing the passport. Pakistan's Machine Readable and biometric passports are currently being issued from regional passports offices and Pakistani embassies.
In 2004, Pakistan became among one of the first countries in the world to issue the biometric passports, which are according to the publisher compliant with ICAO standards and dubbed Multi-biometric e-Passports.. They do not carry the "chip inside" symbol (
), which is mandatory for ICAO-standard electronic passports. More than 7 million passports have been issued until nowThe passports are printed by the governmental agency NADRA.Types
The Passport Act, 1974 and Passport and Visa Manual 1974 regulate the issuance of passports. There are three types of passports being issued in Pakistan:-- Diplomatic Passport
- Official Passport
- Ordinary Passport
- Hajj Passport (No longer issued, now ordinary passports are used for HajjHajjThe Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
pilgrimage).
Diplomatic passports are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to diplomats and other entitled categories .
Official passports are issued to Senators, Members of the National Assembly, provincial ministers, judges of the supreme/high courts, officers serving with the governments when abroad on official assignments etc..
A special Hajj passport was issued to those making a hajj pilgrimage to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. They are however no longer issued, as ordinary passport are used for Hajj pilgrimage.
Security features
The key features of Pakistan passport are:- PKI – Public Key Infrastructure
- RFID Chip
- Biometric features namely Facial & Fingerprint
- IPI- Invisible Personal ID
- 2D Bar code
- Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ)
- Security Substrate and Laminate
- Ultra Violet features Micro Printing
- Holograms
- Watermark Paper
- Security Ink
- 3 Colour Intaglio Printing
- Guilloche Patterns
Controversies and misuse
- An estimated 118 Pakistani passports were lost from the British High CommissionHigh CommissionerHigh Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
in IslamabadIslamabadIslamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Pakistan in late 2009. The High Commission stressed that the missing Pakistani passports could cost the British High Commission dearly as the missing passports had valid multiple visas of various western countriesWestern worldThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...