Passport delay issue likely to be rectified soon

ISLAMABAD: Taking notice of the backlog in issuance of the Pakistani passport the federal government has issued tenders for the purchase of printing machines and e-passport machines.

According to sources, over 800,000 passports are currently pending printing but with the purchase of new machinery and lamination paper, this backlog is expected to be cleared soon.

The Passport and Immigration authorities are currently printing 20-25,000 passports while receiving 40-45,000 applications daily.

To address the issue, tenders have been issued for purchasing printing machines and e-passport machines, while international tenders have also been issued for purchasing lamination paper.

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Applicants have been facing unusual delays in the issuance of their Pakistani passports for the past two months.

According to sources, over 550,000 passport applicants are facing delay of upto two to three months in getting their passports.

Sources said that the Passport and Immigration Department failed to provide machine-readable and e-passports on time.

According to sources, Pakistanis planning to go for Hajj and Umrah, are also facing delays in passport issuance.