Amid the scarcity of lamination paper in Pakistan, citizens are facing difficulty securing new passports, as the shortage has resulted in a nationwide shortage of travel documents, news agency ANI quoted in The Express Tribune report of 8 November.
According to the report, that quoted Directorate General of Immigration & Passports (DGI&P) in Pakistan, the lamination paper in Pakistan is imported from France which is used in passports.
With immense delays in securing passports, several people’s dreams now threaten to shatter. A resident of Gujrat in Pakistan – Zain Ijaz – who secured admission to a university in the UK now faces issues as he can’t travel without a valid passport.
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Not only Ijaz, but others who require the green-coloured book for traveling abroad for study, work, or leisure are stuck and the end to their ordeal presently has no sight.
“I was all set to move to Dubai for work soon. My family and I were beyond ecstatic that our fortunes would finally change but the mismanagement of DGI&P seems to have cost me my golden ticket out poverty and this country,” news agency ANI quoted The Express Tribune reported where bemoaned Gul, who belongs to a far-flung area in Punjab, said.
Another student from Peshawar Hira said, “My student visa for Italy was recently approved and I had to be in the country in October. However, the unavailability of a passport robbed me of an opportunity to leave.”
Though this may seem an issue, this is not new for Pakistan. Earlier in 2013, passport printing came to a similar grinding halt due to the DGI&P owing money to printers and a lack of lamination papers, reported The Express Tribune.
On being asked about DGI&P’s inefficiency, Qadir Yar Tiwana, the Director General for Media of the Ministry of Interior, the parent ministry of DGI&P, said, “The situation will soon be under control, and passport issuance will continue as normal.” Tiwana informed that the government was doing its best to navigate the crisis, adding, that the department had already witnessed a steady decline in the backlog.
Karachi’s North Nazimabad resident Faizan claimed the city receives around 3,000 passport applications every day as per official estimates. Stating that he had to cancel his leisure trip because of the DGI&P’s mismanagement, he said, as Pakistan-based news daily reported, “I submitted my application more than 2 months ago and have not received my passport yet.”
Meanwhile, Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal area resident Amir alleged he received an SMS from the DGI&P last month that his passport was ready for pickup but when he reached the concerned office the staff told him that his passport had not arrived yet.
“My passport has not arrived to date and I have had to cancel all my plans for travelling abroad,” an irate Amir said.
The report further claims, quoting a senior officer of the passport office in Peshawar, that they could presently only process 12 to 13 passports per day as compared to 3,000 to 4,000 passports per day previously and that they had no idea when the pendency would be improved. “People may have to wait for another month or two,” added the official.
With agency inputs.
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Vikram Sharma is a globe-trotting journalist with a global perspective on international events. His articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing insights into the world’s most pressing challenges.
