LAHORE – Interior Minister announced to keep at least one passport office in Lahore and Karachi round the clock as people were forced to wait in stretched queues to get their travel document.
Naqvi, in an announcement on social media, said one passport office in both Lahore and Karachi will remain open 24/7 to ‘better serve the public’ and improve accessibility of passport services.
Minister said the recent move will make it easier for everyone to access passport services anytime.
He earlier visited passport office and suspended several officials in wake of bribery and corruption allegations made by citizens.
During Naqvi’s visit, applicants lameted the menace of bribery, and mafia agents, and a backlog of complaints.
Earlier, Department of Passports and Immigration DGi&P cuts its daily passport production from the usual 12,000 to 3,000, prioritizing urgent and e-passport requests. It led to more than 7,000 intending pilgrims being unable to perform Umrah in Ramadan due to delays.
Despite having the capacity to produce 25,000 passports per day, the department received over 40,000 applications daily. In Karachi, the number of daily passport applicants decreased from 1,800 to 2,000 during Ramazan, compared to the usual 4,000 per day in March.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/05-May-2024/passport-offices-in-lahore-karachi-to-operate-around-the-clock-amid-applicants-influx
