Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has promised that delays in passport issuance are being fixed, and citizens will now receive their passports on time.
During a surprise visit to the 24/7 Passport Office at Awami Markaz and the NADRA Defence Mega Centre in Karachi, Naqvi spoke with people applying for passports and ID cards. He learned that citizens were satisfied with the process, and they praised the system.
Naqvi reassured that the passport delays were being addressed and that passports would now be issued on schedule. He also gave immediate orders to resolve specific ID card issues raised by citizens and asked the NADRA Defence Centre to improve cleanliness and maintenance.
“I’m visiting passport offices and NADRA centres to help citizens. It’s encouraging to see Karachi residents happy with the services,” said Naqvi.
Earlier, Naqvi mentioned that with Saudi Arabia’s help, people involved in passport forgery could now be caught in Pakistan. He visited the Saudi Directorate of Passport in Riyadh to discuss improving passport issuance and preventing forgery, praising the use of advanced technology there.
The Passport Office had faced financial problems, struggling to pay for materials needed to print passports. In May, there was a backlog of 0.8 million passport applications, causing delays. The department was processing 40,000 to 50,000 applications daily, but could only print 20,000 to 22,000 passports a day, creating a gap between demand and supply.
The government took action by importing advanced passport printing machines, and by August, over 500,000 people still hadn’t received their passports. The delays even affected urgent-fee passports. However, the arrival of ten modern printing machines is expected to double the department’s printing capacity, reducing delays significantly.
