Pakistan’s passport has climbed two places to 98th in the 2026 Henley Passport Index, according to updated data cited by Gulf News and Dawn. The improvement is factual, measurable, and worth acknowledging. But stripped of sentiment, the ranking also places Pakistan in the bottom four globally, ahead of only Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Both truths must coexist.
The Henley Passport Index, compiled by Henley & Partners, does not rank 190 countries linearly. It uses 101 ranking positions due to ties, meaning that being “98th” is not mid-table—it is structurally near the floor. This nuance is frequently lost in celebratory takes, but it matters for credibility and public understanding.
What Actually Improved
According to Gulf News, Pakistan’s passport moved from 100th in 2025 to 98th in 2026, not from 126th. The improvement stems from incremental additions to visa-free, visa-on-arrival, or eTA access, bringing the total to roughly 31 destinations. These are primarily small states across Africa, the Caribbean, and Oceania, with limited economic pull but legitimate diplomatic value.
Dawn corroborates the two-place rise and emphasizes that the gain reflects procedural normalization, not a policy breakthrough.
This is not cosmetic. Henley’s methodology is conservative. Any upward movement requires formal recognition by destination states, cleaner documentation standards, and fewer red flags in international mobility systems.
