ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior gave its approval on Friday to a proposal granting official blue passports to former parliamentarians. This endorsement supports amendments proposed in a private member’s bill titled the Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) Amendment Act, 2026, introduced by Senator Abdul Qadir.
The bill stipulates that former lawmakers will be entitled to free blue passports, which are official travel documents issued to government officials, legislators, judges, and military personnel traveling on official state business. Notably, the legislation also extends eligibility for these passports to spouses of former parliamentarians.
Furthermore, dependent children of former members of parliament under the age of 28 would qualify for these official travel documents without any charge. The bill references that retired federal secretaries and their families currently enjoy this privilege, aiming to provide former parliamentarians with equal entitlement.
Official passports are issued to Pakistani nationals including senators, MNAs, provincial ministers, Supreme Court and high court judges, and government officers traveling abroad on official assignments, as outlined by the Directorate General of Immigration & Passports.
In a significant development, this move follows a similar decision in May when the Senate committee unanimously approved a bill granting blue passports to serving and retired senators. During that session, the committee also reviewed legislation proposing lifetime official passports for senators.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry informed the committee that the ministry had no objections to issuing lifetime official passports to serving and retired senators. However, he expressed concerns regarding the extension of this facility to dependent children up to 28 years old, citing reports of misuse.
Chaired by Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, the committee raised additional concerns about issuing blue passports to adult children of senior civil servants. It directed the interior ministry to provide a detailed list of all active blue passports.
The legislators emphasized the necessity for stringent measures against any misuse of official passports before unanimously approving the bill to provide blue passports to serving and retired senators.
