Diplomatic passports of Imran Khan’s cabinet members were revoked after 12 months

Photo of author

By Webdesk


Former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, former Planning Minister Asad Umar and former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.  — AFP/APP/Files
Former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, former Planning Minister Asad Umar and former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. — AFP/APP/Files
  • Diplomatic passports of Shah Mahmood, Asad Umar and Farrukh Habib cancelled.
  • Cabinet members must surrender passports within 30 days of leaving office.
  • Sheikh Rashid Ahmed claims his citizenship has also been revoked.

ISLAMABAD: The diplomatic passports of 10 members of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet have been revoked more than a year after Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was ousted, it emerged on Saturday.

A message from the Director General of Immigration and Passports on May 24 said authorities have decided to “cancel and deactivate” the passports of nine Pakistani leaders of the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the leader of the Awami Muslim League as they were no longer “entitled” to hold diplomatic passports.

The PTI leaders whose passports have been canceled include Aon Abbas Bappi, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Asad Umar, Pervez Khattak, Ali Amin Gandapur, Ali Muhammad Khan, Farrukh Habib, Zartaj Gul, Azam Khan Swati and AML Chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmad.

All these politicians were part of Imran Khan’s cabinet when he was in power from 2018-2022.

In response to the withdrawal of the diplomatic passport, the AML chief claimed he had served as a federal minister 16 times and was “corruption-free”.

“I didn’t run away from the country like Zardari, Nawaz [and] Dar, but today my citizenship, passport has been canceled,” Rashid claimed.

Schedule IV of Passport Rules 2021 explains who can hold diplomatic passports.

According to the rules, these passports can only be issued on the advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Below is the list of people who can hold diplomatic passports:

  • President of Pakistan
  • Prime Minister of Pakistan
  • President of the Senate of Pakistan
  • Chairman of the National Assembly of Pakistan
  • Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
  • governors of the provinces;
  • Chief ministers of the provinces
  • Ministers of the Government of Pakistan
  • Attorney General for Pakistan
  • Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
  • Army Chief of Staff
  • Chief of the Naval Staff
  • Chief of Air Force
  • Ex-Presidents of Pakistan
  • Former Prime Ministers of Pakistan
  • Ministers of State to the Government of Pakistan
  • Ex-Presidents of the Senate of Pakistan and ex-Presidents of the National Assembly of Pakistan
  • Special Assistants to the Prime Minister
  • All federal government officials with the status of federal minister or minister of state;
  • Chairman Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission;
  • Officers in BPS-17 and above of the Pakistan Foreign Service for the duration of their membership in the Pakistan Foreign Service
  • All other officers in BPS-17 and above, including officers of armed forces of equivalent rank who go abroad on diplomatic assignments and who have diplomatic status for the duration of their secondment or other short-term assignments abroad.
  • Pakistani nationals who hold the following positions in international organizations: President of the UN General Assembly; chairperson of UN specialized agencies such as WHO, ILO, FAO, etc.; executive heads of the secretariat of such autonomous and subordinate UN General Assembly organizations that have gained prominence like WTO, UNIDO etc.; directors representing Pakistan in the IBRD, IMF and Asian Development Bank; president and vice presidents of the World Bank and Managing Director & Directors of IMF; Officers of the rank of Assistant Secretary General and above in the UN Secretariat and its specialized agencies; Secretaries General ECO, SAARC and OIC Secretariats; and Executive Director of the Islamic Development Bank:

The rules also state that if these passport holders leave these offices, they must return the document within 30 days of leaving their office.

It is unclear whether the cabinet members mentioned above gave up their passports or why they were canceled more than a year after they left office.


#Diplomatic #passports #Imran #Khans #cabinet #members #revoked #months

Source link

Share via
Copy link