Fact-check: No, Pakistan has not granted visa-free entry to Bangladeshi citizens

Earlier this month, following a change in government in Bangladesh, posts began circulating on social media in Pakistan claiming that the Pakistani government had granted visa-free entry to Bangladeshi citizens.

The claim is false.

Claim

A post on X (formerly Twitter) stated that Pakistan had announced visa-free entry for Bangladeshi citizens. The viral post has garnered over 141,000 views, more than 6,700 likes, and over 720 reposts to date.

Identical claims were shared here and here.

Fact

Officials from the interior ministry and the ministry of information and broadcasting confirm that Bangladeshis will not have visa-free access to Pakistan.

Qadir Yar Tiwana, director general of media at the interior ministry, clarified to Geo Fact Check that, on August 13, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar announced a revised visa policy for several countries.

According to the new policy, visa-free entry will be granted to citizens of Gulf countries, who will need only their passports to enter Pakistan.

“Bangladeshi citizens will now need to apply for a visa on arrival and will receive an electronic visa within 24 hours,” Tiwana explained.

The interior ministry’s website lists the countries whose citizens do not need a visa to enter Pakistan: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.

While citizens from 126 other countries, including Bangladesh, must apply for a visa prior to arrival.

This information was further confirmed by Ambreen Jan, federal secretary at the ministry of information and broadcasting.

Follow us on @GeoFactCheck on X (Twitter) and @geo_factcheck on Instagram. If our readers detect any errors, we encourage them to contact us at [email protected]