Taliban Issued Passports Invalid
Posted May 24, 2002

A U.S. Department of State (DOS) cable issued on May 10, 2002 indicates that Afghan passports issued by the Afghan Taliban government are not valid. This invalidation extends to passports issued between September 1996 and October 2001. Included are passports issued in Afghanistan as well as in the Afghan consulates in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The Taliban government was formally recognized by these countries.

The DOS will no longer issue visas in these passports. If one has a Taliban-issued passport with a valid U.S. visa, s/he must, in addition, obtain a new passport under the Afghanistan Interim Administration (AIA). One would then travel with both passports.

Passports issued before September 1996 by a prior government are still valid. Likewise, passports issued from 1996-2001 under Northern Alliance authorities are also considered valid.