Delay in issuance of passports resented

MANSEHRA: The applicants on Monday demanded of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take notice of the prolonged delay in the issuance of normal and e-passports.“My entire family is ready to move to Saudi Arabia for Umrah but prolonged delay in theissuance of our passports is a big hurdle in its way,” Mohammad Nawaz Awan said.

A group of applicants that assembled outside passport offices here told reporters that despite receiving a high fee the Directorate General Immigration and Passports had been delaying the issuance of the passports for the last seven months.

“We repeatedly visit this office to collect our passports but officials keep no changing dates,” he said.The people said male and female applicants had deposited Rs4500 for six months, Rs7500 for two months Rs9000 for an e-passport of two months and Rs15000 for an e-passport of 22 days but couldn’t receive their travelling documents even after the dates given by officials here.

One of them said that he had to travel abroad on a work permit but had been waiting for his passport for over seven months.“If I couldn’t get a passport within a week, the period fixed by the company for my traveling would end and money spent on availing that employment opportunity would vanish,” Abu Bakar feared.

“The prime minister should take notice of the situation and ensure issuance of passports as early as possible and reduce the period from two to four weeks in all categories as in the past,” Abu Bakar said.An official of the passport office, when approached, said they were processing data even in front of applicants. It was the Directorate General Immigration that delayed the issuance of the passports, he added.