ISLAMABAD: The Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhry, disclosed that the son of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Iqbal Afridi traveled to Europe using a diplomatic (blue) passport and subsequently applied for political asylum in Italy.
During a session of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, Chaudhry explained that the lawmaker’s son held a diplomatic passport and entered Italy through a European country that exempts official passport holders from visa requirements. Typically, blue passports are issued strictly to government officials on official duty and their eligible dependents under stringent regulations.
The minister emphasized that this incident brought embarrassment to Pakistan and raised concerns about the negative image such actions create internationally. In response, the government has curtailed the issuance of blue passports to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Committee members questioned the rationale behind penalizing all passport holders instead of holding the responsible individuals accountable. They urged the government to take legal action against those involved in misuse of diplomatic privileges.
In a statement to journalists, Iqbal Afridi called for transparency regarding the number of people who have sought political asylum abroad before his son. He warned that if the current conditions persist, it would discourage citizens from remaining in the country.
