Claim: Bangladesh and Pakistan have agreed to visa-free entry for all citizens.
Fact: The claim is misleading. The agreement between the two countries applies only to holders of diplomatic and official passports, not to ordinary citizens. Regular passport holders from Pakistan and Bangladesh still require a visa for travel.
Recently, an image showing Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shaking hands with Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus was shared on Facebook, with the text “Pakistan, Bangladesh Approve Visa-Free Entry”.
Several users shared either the same image or different posts, suggesting that citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh can now travel between the two countries without a visa.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check traced the image back to Startup Pakistan’s, a news and media outlet, Facebook post. While the post carried the viral image, the first comment on the post included a link to a blog post. The blog clarified that Pakistan and Bangladesh have signed an agreement allowing holders of diplomatic and official passports from both countries to travel without a visa.
We then searched for credible news reports about this development and found a Dawn article dated 23 July 2025. It stated that during a recent visit to Bangladesh, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Home Minister (retired) Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury in Dhaka. The two ministers held wide-ranging talks on bilateral issues and matters of mutual interest. The report further stated that the two countries “agreed in principle to grant visa-free entry to holders of diplomatic and official passports, along with a pledge to stronger security cooperation.”
Following the meeting, the Interior Ministry also issued a statement: “Significant progress was made on visa-free entry for diplomatic and official passports during the meeting. Pakistan and Bangladesh have made a principled decision to provide visa-free entry facilities for diplomatic and official passports.”
According to a 22 August report by The Daily Star, a Bangladesh-based English daily, “diplomatic and official passport holders of Bangladesh and Pakistan will be able to travel to each other’s countries without visas.” The report further added that “a draft agreement to this effect was approved on 21 August during the weekly advisory council meeting, chaired by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at his office, according to a press release from the cabinet division. The agreement with Pakistan will remain valid for five years, Shafiqul Alam, the chief adviser’s press secretary, said in a press briefing.”
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram, it was shared here (archive).
On TikTok, it was shared here (archive).
Conclusion: The claim that Bangladesh and Pakistan have agreed on visa-free travel for all citizens is misleading. The agreement applies only to diplomatic and official passport holders.
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Background image in cover photo: Arab News
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