Misleading
Fact-Checked
- 16.01.2026
Pakistan’s passport ranking has not jumped by 28 spots from 126 to 98 for 2026
CLAIM
Pakistan’s passport ranking for 2026 improves by 28 spots from 126 to 98
RATING JUSTIFICATION
The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is misleading.
To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan reviewed the Henley Passport Index report 2025 to confirm Pakistan’s ranking for that year.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi claimed in a post on X on January 15, 2026, that Pakistan’s passport ranking had improved by 28 spots from 126th to 98th for the current year. However, Pakistan’s ranking has changed by five spots since the passport was ranked 103 last year, not 126.
According to the 2026 Henley Passport Index, Pakistan’s passport ranking is 98th this year, tied with Yemen, allowing visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 31 countries. It ranks higher than Iraq (99), Syria (100), and Afghanistan (101).
Pakistani passport holders can travel visa-free to countries such as Barbados, Dominica, and Rwanda, obtain a visa-on-arrival in nations including Cambodia, Maldives, and Nepal, and use an Electronic Travel Authorisation for Kenya, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka.
HOW IT STARTED
On Jan 15, the interior minister shared a Gulf News report on X regarding Pakistan’s passport ranking, with the following caption: “Pakistan’s passport ranking improving from 126th to 98th is a strong achievement, and this momentum will continue, InshaAllah.“
The post reached over 645,000 people.
Several users contested Naqvi in the comments. There was also a reader-added context available below Naqvi’s post.
Later, GTV News also shared the same claim on its official X account.
Other users on X, including PML-N supporters and pro-military accounts, circulated the same claim, as can be seen here, here, here, here and here.
METHODOLOGY
A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the matter.
A review of the Henley Passport Index report 2025 showed that Pakistan was ranked 103rd, placing it among the last five countries globally and tying with Yemen as the fourth-worst passport.
A keyword search of 2025 news stories yielded a Gulf News report dated October 14, 2025, with the following headline: “Pakistani passport declines in latest rankings, now at 103rd position.”
According to the report, Pakistan’s passport slipped to 103rd place in the 2025 Henley Passport Index. It was a decline from its previous rank of 96th, when it allowed visa-free access to 32 countries. Only Iraq (104th, 29 destinations), Syria (105th, 26 destinations), and Afghanistan (106th, 24 destinations) ranked below Pakistan.
Geo News also reported the same on October 15, 2025, with the following headline, “Pakistan passport remains fourth weakest in global index for fifth year”.
Furthermore, it can be seen from past data on the Henley Passport Index from 2006 to 2025 that Pakistan’s lowest ranking has been at 113 in 2021.
FACT-CHECK TITLE: MISLEADING
The claim that Pakistan’s passport ranking improved by 28 spots from 126 to 98 for 2026 is misleading.
The ranking has changed by five spots to 98, as Pakistan was previously ranked 103 for 2025, not 126.
EVIDENCES AND REFERENCES
Henley Passport Index report 2025:
https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking
October 14, 2025, Gulf News report:
October 15, 2025, Geo News report: