Special team constituted to probe Pakistan's passport delay controversy

ISLAMABAD - A special team has been constituted to look into the delay regarding the delivery of Pakistani passports as flyers file complaints on numerous forums.

The team has been constituted by Federal Ombudsman, Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi to identify the gaps in the delivery of the travel document and address the issue. The team would be led by a senior advisor with the objective to visit the Directorate General of Passport office, identify the reasons behind the delays, and recommend measures for the timely delivery of passports.

The inspection team is expected to examine the complaints and get in touch with the Directorate General of Passport to finally devise a solution and resolve public grievances.

The Federal Ombudsman Office has reportedly received complaints from passengers who are unable to fly due to passport delays; some were even waiting for their passports to perform religious duties like Umrah and Ziaraat.

Media reports say that around 400,000 passports are currently pending processing within the directorate primarily due to the shortage of lamination papers.

Despite repeated complaints and media attention, the department is unable to clear the backlog and has faced public criticism for such inefficiency.

The complaints have prompted the Federal Ombudsman to intervene and investigate the root cause and finally find out a solution to address the challenges.

The Directorate of Immigration and Passports is also facing challenges due to the fact that thousands of Pakistanis are now applying for travel document to look for employment opportunities abroad as the economic crisis in the country has rendered many jobless and hopeless.

At one end, the exodus of youth is an alarming fact that the brain drain would increase in the country while some of the observers also say that a bright aspect would be that those who are leaving would be able to help the country through remittances and would also have a better exposure to come back and serve the nation in future.