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Pakistan, Sudan Sign Visa-Free Travel Deal for Diplomatic and Official Passports

Pakistan and Sudan have signed a visa-free travel agreement for holders of diplomatic and official passports, in a move the two countries say will make official travel easier and bring their governments closer together. The Pakistan Sudan visa free travel agreement was signed in Islamabad on Saturday, 7 November 2026, during a meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Sudanese counterpart, Lieutenant General Babiker Samra Mustafa Ali.

The deal is narrow in scope but part of a wider package: alongside the visa exemption, the two sides agreed to deepen cooperation in internal security, cybercrime, police training and civil registration, and Pakistan offered help with Sudan’s peace efforts, reconstruction and medical facilities for Sudanese citizens.

What the agreement covers

Front cover of a Pakistani e-passport — Pakistan Sudan visa-free travel agreement
A Pakistani e-passport (file photo).

Under the Pakistan Sudan visa free travel agreement, citizens of Pakistan and Sudan who hold valid diplomatic or official passports will be able to enter each other’s territory without obtaining a visa first. The exemption applies only to those two passport categories.

That limit matters: ordinary passport holders are not covered. A Pakistani travelling to Sudan on a regular passport, or a Sudanese citizen visiting Pakistan on one, must still follow the normal visa requirements, and no date was given for any wider arrangement.

Naqvi called the agreement an important milestone that would facilitate high-level contacts. His Sudanese counterpart said it would further strengthen friendly relations and institutional cooperation.

Who signed the agreement

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at a press conference — Pakistan Sudan visa-free travel agreement
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at a press conference (file photo).

The Pakistan Sudan visa free travel agreement was signed by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Sudanese Interior Minister Lieutenant General Babiker Samra Mustafa Ali during their meeting in Islamabad on Saturday. The Sudanese minister is in Pakistan for talks with the interior ministry, and the signing was the centrepiece of the visit.

Naqvi said Pakistan was ready to extend all possible assistance to Sudan in restoring peace and supporting reconstruction. The Sudanese minister welcomed Pakistan’s offers of cooperation and thanked Islamabad for its support across various fields, describing Pakistan as a brotherly country and saying Sudan attached great importance to strengthening ties with it.

Security, cybercrime and police training

Cyber security personnel during an exercise — Pakistan Sudan visa-free travel agreement
Cyber security personnel during an exercise (illustrative file photo).

Beyond the visa exemption, the two sides agreed to strengthen institutional collaboration in internal security, cybercrime, police training and civil registration. They also decided to sign a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in tackling cybercrime, with the Sudanese interior minister expressing interest in benefiting from Pakistan’s expertise in the field.

Pakistan also offered professional training for Sudanese police officers, which the Sudanese side welcomed. The emphasis reflects the practical side of the visit: alongside the Pakistan Sudan visa free travel agreement, the two interior ministries are building working-level cooperation between their security institutions.

NADRA’s role in Sudan’s civil registration

NADRA headquarters in Islamabad — Pakistan Sudan visa-free travel agreement
NADRA headquarters in Islamabad (file photo).

One of the most concrete parts of the discussion concerned civil registration, where Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) already has a long record of working with Sudan. Highlighting NADRA’s role, Naqvi said the authority had helped Sudan issue 36 million citizenship cards, nine million national identity cards, 18 million birth certificates and 500,000 death certificates.

Naqvi said NADRA was ready to keep helping Sudan strengthen its civil registration process. For a country rebuilding state institutions, functioning civil registration — identity cards, birth and death records, citizenship documentation — is a foundation other services depend on, and it is one of the practical things Islamabad can offer Khartoum.

Visa help and healthcare for Sudanese citizens

A public hospital in Pakistan — Pakistan Sudan visa-free travel agreement
A public hospital in Pakistan (file photo).

Separately, Naqvi directed officials to immediately resolve visa-related issues faced by Sudanese women married to Pakistani nationals, a practical problem that has affected families caught between the two countries’ systems. He also said Sudanese citizens could benefit from medical facilities in Pakistan, assuring that all possible assistance would be provided to them in the healthcare sector.

The Sudanese minister welcomed both offers and thanked Pakistan for its support. The healthcare assurance and the visa instruction sit alongside the Pakistan Sudan visa free travel agreement as the human side of the visit — measures aimed at ordinary people rather than officials, even though the visa-free arrangement itself covers only diplomatic and official passport holders.

What the deal means for Pakistan–Sudan ties

Parliament House in Islamabad — Pakistan Sudan visa-free travel agreement
Parliament House in Islamabad (file photo).

The Pakistan Sudan visa free travel agreement is modest in what it grants — visa-free entry for a small group of officials and diplomats — but it signals wider engagement, paired with cooperation on cybercrime, police training, civil registration and healthcare, and an explicit Pakistani offer to help Sudan’s peace and reconstruction efforts.

No implementation timeline for the visa exemption was announced, so the practical test will be when diplomatic and official passport holders can actually start travelling without visas. What is clear from Saturday’s signing is the direction of travel: Islamabad and Khartoum are building a closer institutional relationship, and the Pakistan Sudan visa free travel agreement is the formal marker of that intent.

Sources: Islamabad Post and TechJuice

UrduPro News Desk
Written by UrduPro News Desk
The UrduPro News Desk covers Pakistan and world news. Stories are researched from official sources and reviewed by our editorial team before publication. To send a correction or a news tip, please use the Contact page.
UrduPro News Desk
UrduPro News Desk
UrduPro Correspondent

The UrduPro News Desk covers Pakistan and world news. Stories are researched from official sources and reviewed by our editorial team before publication. To send a correction or a news tip, please use the Contact page.

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