Delay in Pakistani passport issuance echoes in National Assembly

ISLAMABAD: The issue of delay in Pakistani passport issuance echoed in the National Assembly on Tuesday, ARY news reported.

Responding to Pakistan People’s Party’s Aga Rafiullah’s call attention notice, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar said the government is working to speed up the issuance process of passports.

He said the daily demand for Pakistani passports has reached 44,000 while only 25,000 to 26,000 passports are being published, daily in Pakistan.

“Software is on update, the number of issuance of passports will reach 60,000, daily till September,” Tarar said.

Azam Nazeer Tarar admitted ‘extraordinary’ delay in passport issuance and assured to address the issue raised by a member of the house.

Earlier it was reported that passport seekers are facing problems in getting their passports as the office is running out of black ink required for the printing.

According to the details, the passport office requested the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to immediately clear a shipment of black ink, warning of a printing crisis if the shipment is not cleared.

The passport office asked the FBR to defer payment of taxes on the import of black ink, which led to non-clearance of shipment.