‘No request received from Gandapur for diplomatic passport issuance’

ISLAMABAD: The Director General of Immigration and Passports on Friday said he had not received any application for issuance of a diplomatic passport from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, despite the latter’s claim that his passport had been blocked in the aftermath of May 9, 2023 unrest.

Gandapur stated he had applied for a diplomatic passport on August 12 but received no response from the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports.

He shared the application on social media platform X, claiming that authorities had delayed processing the document due to political reasons.

The claim follows instructions from PTI’s jailed founding chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan, directing Gandapur to travel to Afghanistan to discuss bilateral matters including terrorism and Afghan refugees – a trip that would require valid travel documents.

When contacted, Director General of Immigration and Passports Mustafa Jamal Kazi said he had no knowledge of the request. “I have not seen the application as I am currently abroad on an official visit,” said Kazi. “I will look into it once I return.”

Under the Passport Act, 1974, Passport Rules 2021, diplomatic passports are issued by the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports, but only upon authorisation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Diplomatic passports are strictly reserved for designated state officials and individuals on diplomatic assignments. Those entitled to diplomatic passports under Schedule-IV of the rules included the President of Pakistan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Chairman Senate, Speaker National Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Governors of the provinces, Chief Ministers of the provinces, federal ministers, Attorney General for Pakistan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff, former presidents and prime ministers, ministers of state, former chairmen of Senate and former speakers of National Assembly, special assistants to the prime minister, federal government functionaries with the status of federal minister or minister of state, and the chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).