ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said this week the government could impose travel restrictions and review the citizenship of Pakistani journalists who reportedly visited Israel in March amid the ongoing devastation and killings of Palestinian women and children in Gaza.
Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has consistently advocated for an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital. The Pakistani passport explicitly states it is valid for all countries except Israel.
Last month, Israel Hayom, a Hebrew-language newspaper, reported that a 10-member Pakistani delegation comprising journalists, intellectuals and influencers visited Israel for a week. Subsequently, The Jerusalem Post noted that the delegation traveled to Israel to learn about the Holocaust and the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.
“Our [Pakistani] passport, which is issued by the Ministry of Interior, does not allow travel to Israel,” Chaudhry said in an interview with Independent Urdu. “They certainly could not have gone there on this passport.”
The minister emphasized the government would determine how these journalists managed to travel to Israel.
“If our document has been misused, or if they misused it up to a certain point and then proceeded without any documents, then there are several criminal proceedings, including a potential travel ban, that could be initiated against such individuals,” he continued. “Even their citizenship could come into question.”
Chaudhry added the foreign and interior ministries were in contact regarding this matter.
The Pakistani foreign office said last month the country’s passport explicitly states it is “not valid for travel to Israel.”
“Therefore, no such visit is possible under existing regulations,” it maintained in a statement responding to media queries.
This is not the first time such an incident has been reported in the media. In 2022, a delegation of Pakistani journalists visited Israel under the banner of the Sharaka organization, which says it aims to promote dialogue and coexistence in the Middle East.
The visit led to significant controversy in Pakistan, with one of the journalists being dismissed from his position at the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) following the trip.
Minister says Pakistani journalists who visited Israel may face travel ban, lose citizenship
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Minister says Pakistani journalists who visited Israel may face travel ban, lose citizenship
- Talal Chaudhry says government trying to determine how the journalists managed to travel to Israel
- Pakistan does not recognize Israel and its passport is valid for all countries except for the Jewish state
Islamabad questions growing India, Afghanistan engagement amid militancy surge in Pakistan
- Afghan ministers visited India in October and December last year amid Kabul’s strained ties with Islamabad
- Islamabad accuses India of supporting militant groups based in Afghanistan who launch attacks against Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday questioned growing engagement between officials from India and Afghanistan, vowing Islamabad would eliminate “terrorism” from the country as it reels from a surge in militancy.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived in New Delhi in October last year, marking the first official visit by a Taliban leader to the country since 2021 where he was accorded a warm welcome. In December 2025, Afghanistan’s Public Health Minister Noor Jalal Jalali arrived in India.
These visits took place amid growing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad frequently accuses India of supporting militant groups who carry out attacks in Pakistan, especially in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and southwestern Balochistan provinces. Pakistan also alleges these militant groups use Afghan territory to launch attacks against it. New Delhi and Kabul both deny Pakistan’s allegations.
“You can see the Afghan government [officials] every other day go to India and hold negotiations there,” Tarar said during a news conference. “What negotiations are these? What trade do you have with them? What areas of mutual cooperation are there that require such extensive consultations?”
The minister said the militants who were carrying out attacks in Pakistan want to destabilize the country, accusing them of following a “foreign-funded agenda.”
“What Islam is this, that you take funds from India and conduct blasts here,” he questioned.
Tarar said the nation remains united in defeating “terrorism,” adding that the government will battle militancy in all its forms.
“Not only will we counter their narrative, we will also ensure that every Pakistani citizen feels safe,” he added.
The development takes place as Pakistan grapples with surging militancy. Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told reporters during a media briefing last week that the country witnessed 5,397 militant incidents in 2025.
KP province accounted for 3,811 attacks while 1,557 incidents were reported in Balochistan, he said. The military spokesperson said security forces carried out 75,175 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in the country last year, killing 2,597 militants.
“The past year was a landmark and consequential one in the war against terrorism,” he said.
