ISLAMABAD – The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) issued 13 million passports were issued in past two years at an average of 6.7 million per year.
It was revealed by the directorate in its annual performance report, highlighting significant improvements and developments in passport services across Pakistan.
According to the report, services have been made timely and available 24/7 nationwide, including the elimination of the long-standing “baglock” issue. The total number of passport offices in Pakistan has now reached 232.
Over the past 17 years, approximately 55 million passports have been issued at an average of 3.4 million annually.
During the last year, 130,318 overseas Pakistanis were provided with online passport services, it said, adding that over the last 16 years, the department has contributed a total of Rs295.7 billion to the national treasury. In the past two years, annual contributions doubled to Rs40 billion.
The department also issued 53 Pakistan Citizenship Certificates in the past year, along with 4,447 Renunciation Certificates and one Naturalization Certificate.
Major infrastructure upgrades and the implementation of modern security features were also carried out during the year.
As part of its expansion, 32 new passport counters were established nationwide. Passport counters were also set up in all provincial assemblies and bar councils. Major cities across the country now offer passport services 24/7.
To ensure timely printing, the department acquired 10 modern passport printers and 6 laminators. A nationwide rollout of e-gates connected to the e-passport system is also underway.
On the directives of DG Passports Mustafa Jamal Qazi, the Passport Mobile App was upgraded.
