Fact-check: Claim of Pakistan passport improvement misrepresents Henley Index Data

After the Henley Passport Index released its rankings 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 achievement”.

This claim is false.

Claim

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

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

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

Fact

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

The Henley Passport Index is compiled by 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 Pakistani passport holders could enter 33 destinations without a prior visa.

In the 2026 Henley Passport Index, Pakistan is ranked 98th, 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 ranking, 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 release four passport index updates each year.

Geo Fact Check contacted the 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 viewed in context. The change in the 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 policies 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’s 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 declined, and its position near the bottom of the index remains unchanged. The claim that this represents a “strong achievement” is misleading.

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