Global mobility crisis

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Henley & Partners has released its annual Henley Passport Index, placing Pakistan at 96th out of 99 positions — fourth from the bottom for the fourth consecutive year. The ranking is based on the number of visa-free and visa on arrival (VOA) countries that passport holders have access to, along with their ability to obtain an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) which is a digital travel permit used as a pre-screening method for visa-exempt foreign nationals. While the strongest passport in the world, Singapore's, grants visa-free access to 193 countries, the Pakistani passport offers merely 32 visa-free locations.

A 'weak' passport hinders citizens in many ways beyond increasing travel and visa costs. It creates barriers for entrepreneurs looking to expand their businesses internationally, forcing them to face long waiting times and visa rejections. Moreover, in the past, several domestic e-sports and gaming teams have even been disqualified from international tournaments due to visa-rejections and delayed embassy responses.

In an increasingly global world, the degree of mobility that people in a country have largely determines their ability to advance and connect with the global economy. Without those connections, there is limited exposure, limited opportunity and limited competition on an international scale.

Consistently ranking amongst the bottom five contenders for four years now should force the Pakistani government to divert its attention away from empty diplomatic posturing and instead direct it towards structural reforms that strengthen people's global integration. Especially when its bottom-ranking neighbours include Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan — some of the most war-torn countries devastated by active conflict and occupation.

While strengthening a passport's ranking is no easy feat, it should at least be an objective that the Pakistani government actively pursues to ease its citizens' lives and improve its own standing on the global stage.