The long-standing issue of delayed passport issuance in Pakistan, which affects many Pakistanis in the UAE, is on track to be resolved by September.
The Pakistani government has announced plans to acquire eight new passport printing machines to address the problem.
According to officials, the Director General of Immigration and Passports has forwarded a requisition to the Interior Ministry, responsible for overseeing the department.
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These new machines, expected to be ordered from abroad by September this year, will include six desktop and two e-passport machines capable of printing 1,000 passports per hour. The initiative aims to tackle the persistent complaints about delays in passport issuance that have been reported across Pakistan over the past year and a half.
Shortages of lamination paper
The delays have been attributed to shortages of lamination paper and the limited capacity of existing machinery, resulting in significant inconvenience for applicants.
Instead of the usual daily output of approximately 12,000 passports, authorities have managed to produce only up to 3,000, primarily urgent and e-passports. Normal fee-paying applicants have faced waiting periods of about four months.
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Despite importing paper from France and securing ink and printers from Germany for machine-readable passports, delays have persisted, exacerbated by currency shortages affecting the import process.
These ongoing delays have understandably caused frustration and anxiety among many Pakistanis in the UAE, underscoring the critical need for efficiency and reform in the passport issuance process.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
