There was a time when arch rivals India and Pakistan shared a joint travel passport. After Partition, many people did not have passports but needed to cross the border to visit their family members.
To
ease travel, a combined India-Pakistan passport was issued, allowing movement between the two countries. These documents remained in use until the late 1960s.
Historian Explains Origin
In a viral Instagram post, historian Dr. Noor Zaidi has explained how this arrangement reflected practical needs in the years after the deadly Partition.
“A joint India-Pakistan passport?? It seems impossible and inconceivable with the politics of today, with talk of war, attacks, Rafales and Sindoor everywhere. But it existed!” Zaidi’s video caption reads.
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She further states: “After Partition, most people didn’t have a passport to cross the border. But for those who had families on both sides of the border, an India-Pakistan passport was issued to make travel between the counties easier. Despite the tensions that now exist (and existed) between the countries, that passport was in use until almost the 1960s.”
How India-Pakistan Joint Passport Looked
The joint India-Pakistan passport, born out of cross-border travel necessity at the time, appeared with a red cover. One such image of the passport has been shared by Amritsar-based ‘Tha Partition Museum’ on its social handles.
In a Facebook post from 2019, the museum shared an image of one such rare passport, issued on October 28, 1968 in Amritsar, belonging to an individual identified as Sardar Shamsher Singh.
“The India-Pakistan passport was a special passport for the two countries which was issued through the India-Pakistan Passport and Visa Scheme in October 1952. This passport was held along with the general passport of each country. While the former would regulate travel between India and Pakistan, the latter would concern itself with other international travel. This standardised the post-Partition permit system which had existed since 1948,” the Facebook read.
According to the museum, the India-Pakistan and Visa Scheme was merged into one international passport in 1967.
“In July 1948, the newly independent Indian state drafted a new Indian passport to control and regulate the mass influx of refugees after Partition. India also adopted a new permit system across its western border with Pakistan, which was later adopted by Pakistan in October 1948. Eventually, the India-Pakistan and Visa Scheme was merged into one international passport in 1967,” the post explained further.
