Green passport

Our problems scream for solutions, but our rulers have left things go adrift. In recent years, in several important spheres of life we are being placed at the bottom on the social league table. For the past many years, the green Pakistani passport is being viewed with suspicion due to causes ranging from drugs, human trafficking and terrorism to money laundering. The latest Henley Passport Index has placed Pakistan at 104^th position out of 107 countries. The ranking is based on the number of destinations the passport holders can travel to without obtaining a prior visa. Pakistan and Somalia occupy the same position with access to only 32 countries without a prior visa. Pakistan is positioned in the bottom four on the list for the third year running.

The ranking is based on the data gathered from the International Air Transport Association, whose figures are recognised as the most accurate travel information. Ranking below Pakistan is Syria with access to 29 countries; Iraq with access to 28; and Afghanistan with access to only 26 without a prior visa. The Indian passport has also slipped 10 places to 84 in the latest report from a decade-high ranking of 74 — a sorry reflection of Modi’s economic policies and politics. Progressive Indians are leaving their country because of the stifling political and social atmosphere prevailing in the country. The exodus of educated Indians from their motherland is also being attributed to a ‘growth’ without jobs, which is resulting from blatantly crony capitalist policies being pursued by Modi. Since the rise of fascist forces from 2014 many independent thinkers have been killed by Hindutva brigands and many have been forced into silence.

In Pakistan, economic problems due to the greed of the ruling classes have resulted in a paucity of jobs. This is manifest by deportations of Pakistanis from foreign countries.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2020.

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