Naqvi inaugurates new passport office: will the backlog finally end now?

ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has inaugurated state-of-the-art Immigration and Passport Office in the capital. He also visited various departments of the passport office. Speaking to media, the interior minister said that the problems in passport and National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) offices have been resolved.

“In the past, there was a backlog of up to six months in the passport office. However, now the public is being well-served in these offices,” Naqvi said, adding that the government is trying to form a ‘Passport and Immigration Authority’.

“There is a need to establish a model office in Lahore as well,” he said.

NADRA offices in 14 to 16 cities of the country are already operational around the clock. With the new office, now the citizens will get passports and identity cards soon, the interior minister said.

Reiterating the importance of facilitating people in getting their passports and identity cards, the interior minister also warned of action against ‘agent mafia’ in passport office.

He informed that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is cracking down on ‘agent mafia’ often seen lurking outside passport offices.

NADRA Chairman Lt. General Muhammad Munir Afsar, Islamabad Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa, Islamabad Police Inspector General Ali Nasir Rizvi and other officials including Riffat Mukhtar Raja and Ayub Chaudhry also visited the new passport office.

PROLONG DELAYS IN PASSPORT ISSUANCE

Immigration and Passports Director General Mustafa Jamal Qazi said that the services of the passport office have now been improved. He informed that Naqvi visited the new reception, online section, production center and data centre.

This statement comes after reports of prolonged delays in issuance of passports for the past several months. Despite payment of ‘urgent’ fees, the citizens had to wait much longer, at times for almost two months, before receiving their passports. This was especially troublesome for those who needed to travel for medical treatment, education or were waiting for work visas.

According to a news report by Dawn, published in November, DG Qazi had informed the National Assembly standing committee that the backlog of passport applications was nearly quarter of a million. He had also said that the delay had been caused by the delay in austerity committee’s approval of funds needed for the lamination paper used in passports.

He had assured the lawmakers back then that the backlog will be cleared by mid-December. Now the interior minister has also promised an end to the backlog with the new office becoming operational.

Also read: Citizens can now apply for passport from any city in Pakistan