After being informed of the delay in passport processing for Pakistani nationals living abroad, Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued an order on Sunday to expedite the issuing of passports for overseas Pakistanis.
During his visit to the London passport and Nadra facilities, he issued a directive enabling Pakistanis living abroad to get urgent passports issued in seven days, while regular passports would take 30 days. All Pakistani missions around the world will be subject to this regulation.
At the moment, regular passports are provided to Pakistanis living abroad in four months, while urgent passports are issued in 1.5 months.
Naqvi stressed how unacceptable it is for there to be any delays in passport issue and threatened to take appropriate measures against personnel who disobey the directive.
The PSP City Bannu will serve as the head of the monitoring cell that the minister formed to guarantee passports are provided on schedule.
Naqvi dismissed passport officers on May 27 in response to growing allegations of corruption and bribery at passport offices.
When the minister went to the Lahore Passport Office in Garden Town, he observed a concerning state of affairs where residents were complaining about lengthy lines, bribery being common, mafia agents having too much power, and a backlog of complaints.
Minister Naqvi responded by appointing a new director and deputy director and launching disciplinary action against the latter.
