A widespread shortage of lamination paper is making it difficult for Pakistani citizens to apply for new passports, The Express Tribune reported on Wednesday.
The Directorate General of Immigration & Passports (DGI&P) of the nation claims that because lamination paper, which is used in passports, is imported from France, there is currently a shortage of the travel document across the entire country.
The head of DGI&P’s parent ministry, the Ministry of Interior, Qadir Yar Tiwana, indicated that every effort was being made by the government to manage the problem. “The situation will be under control soon, and passport issuance will continue as normal,” Tiwana declared, adding that the backlog had already steadily decreased for the department.
Numerous Pakistanis with international trip plans have been affected by this shortage. Many students have been blaming the incompetence of the Pakistani government for the situation as they face approaching admission deadlines at colleges throughout the globe.
Among the thousands of people having trouble obtaining the travel permit is Zain Ijaz, a resident of Gujrat. Ijaz has been fostering an ambition for a long time to continue his study in the UK. It seemed as though his ambition might soon come true when he was accepted into a UK institution. Unfortunately, his dreams are now in jeopardy due to an atypical delay in getting his passport.
Thousands of people, like Ijaz, who need the green passport to go abroad for business, school, or recreation are stuck in a situation that doesn’t seem to have an immediate solution, according to The Express Tribune.
“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,” complained Gul, who lives in a remote part of the Punjab province.
Hira, a Peshawar student, also had a similar experience. “My student visa to Italy was recently approved, and I had to be in the country by October. However, the unavailability of a passport robbed me of an opportunity to leave, ” Hira stated.
It is noteworthy that there are other instances of this inefficiency. According to the Express Tribune, the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports’ (DGI&P) debt to printers and a lack of lamination paper caused passport production to likewise come to a halt in 2013.
Only 12 to 13 passports can be processed every day.
There doesn’t seem to be a set timeframe for getting this resolved, according to local passport offices spread across multiple locations. For example, a top passport office official in Peshawar, who wished to remain anonymous to The Express Tribune, disclosed that the agency can now only handle 12 to 13 passports a day, a major reduction from the 3,000 to 4,000 passports they could process a day prior.
However, when asked about the matter, Saeed Ahmed Abbasi, the Director of Passports and Immigration at the Zonal Office Saddar in Karachi, declined to provide a date. He stated that, in an official capacity, he was unable to respond to questions about when the passport shortfall will be resolved.
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