ISLAMABAD, May 23: Over 50 former federal and state ministers have not yet returned their diplomatic passports despite leaving offices on the expiry of the tenure of PPP government.

They included former minister for information and broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira, former adviser to the prime minister on interior Rehman Malik and former defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not written any letter to these former federal and state ministers to return their red diplomatic passports,” said a foreign ministry official.

Explaining the rules and procedures for issuing the red diplomatic passport, he said: “These passports are issued to the Pakistani diplomats who are given postings abroad and every serving federal or state minister.”

He added that no official was entitled to have a red diplomatic passport, not even the director general of passports and immigration.

“The prerogative of issuing the red diplomatic passport solely rests with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he added.

A passport and immigration department official added that under the law only career diplomats of the Foreign Office were allowed to keep the red diplomatic passports even after retirement.

“Political appointees on diplomatic positions like those given ambassadorial assignments abroad are supposed to surrender their passports to the Foreign Office after leaving the posts,” said the passport department official.

An official of the Ministry of Interior informed Dawn: “The government has a laid down rule for issuance of passports – green (for Pakistani citizens not having diplomatic or official status), blue (officials travelling on government assignments) and red (those given diplomatic status).”

The interior division official added that passports to government officials were issued after a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Interior.

“We have no mandate over the red diplomatic passports,” maintained the official.

He added that federal and state ministers were issued red diplomatic passports on the directive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

When contacted, PPP spokesman Qamar Zaman Kaira said: “I am holding the red diplomatic passport and yet to return it to the concerned department.”

He added: “Since I have valid visas on the red diplomatic passport, I will get a green one after cancelling this passport and making sure that the visas stay with me.”

He said all his colleagues would also return the diplomatic passports as per the law.

When Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry was contacted by this reporter and asked whether his ministry had written any letter to the former ministers for returning the diplomatic passports, he claimed: “We have written to all the former ministers for returning the red diplomatic passports.”

He, however, said foreign ministers were recently allowed by the government to keep their diplomatic passports even after leaving the office.

Commenting on the issuance of visas to the red diplomatic passport holders, the spokesman said: “We usually issue ‘note verbal’ (a request for smooth issuance of visa) to any official holding the red diplomatic passport.”

He said the red diplomatic passport holders had to get the visa from the concerned embassy on their own even after issuance of the ‘note verbal’.