Claim of Pakistani passport enhancement misrepresents Henley Index Data

After the Henley Passport Index released its ranking of the world’s passports for 2026, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi claimed that Pakistan’s passport ranking had improved, calling it a “strong performance”.

This claim is false.

Assertion

On January 15, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi wrote on his official X (formerly Twitter) account: “Pakistan’s pass ranking improving from 126th to 98th is a strong performance and this momentum will continue.”

His post was accompanied by a news report from Gulf Newsan English-language newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which stated that Pakistan’s passport had jumped to 98th place in the 2026 Henley Passport Index, up from 100th in 2025. The report attributed this change to “growing diplomatic efforts and recent international agreements that are gradually expanding the freedom of travel for citizens of Pakistan.”

Several Pakistani media organizations also reported an improvement in Pakistan’s pass ranking based on this claim.

Fact

The claim misrepresents the results of the Henley Passport Index released on 9 January. The strength of Pakistan’s passport has not improved. In fact, the number of destinations that Pakistani passport holders can access visa-free has dropped from 33 in 2025 to 31 in 2026.

The Henley Passport Index is compiled by the London-based immigration consultancy Henley & Partners. It ranks passports annually based on the number of destinations their holders can access without obtaining a visa in advance.

At the end of 2025, Pakistan ranked 103rd with a visa-free score of 33, meaning that Pakistani passport holders could enter 33 destinations without a prior visa.

In the 2026 Henley Passport Index, Pakistan is ranked 98, but its visa-free score has dropped to 31. This indicates that Pakistani passport holders can now access fewer destinations without a visa compared to last year.

Despite the numerical shift in the rankings, Pakistan has remained fifth from the bottom in both years.

The report can be accessed here.

It is also important to note that Henley & Partners publishes four passport index updates each year.

Geofact check contacted Henley Passport Index for clarification. A spokesperson explained that an improvement in ranking does not necessarily reflect a stronger passport.

“Rankings are often affected by movement and consolidation across the rest of the list, so they should be seen in context. The change in visa-free score is a more accurate measure of how a passport’s strength has evolved over the year,” she explained.

She added that many passports worldwide lost access to certain destinations this year due to changes in visa policy and the introduction of eVisa systems.

“Pakistan’s passport has maintained its position as fifth from the bottom of the list, indicating that it has neither lost significant ground nor seen any meaningful improvement,” she said.

Pakistan Passport Ranking and Visa Free Score (2021-2026)

Verdict: The actual measure of Pakistan’s passport strength in the Henley Passport Index is its visa-free score. On that measure, Pakistan’s score has fallen, and its position near the bottom of the index remains unchanged. The claim that this represents a “strong performance” is misleading.