Foreign embassies in Islamabad have been rejecting Pakistani passports without lamination saying that stamped passports will not be considered for visa.
The former interior minister had extended the expiry date of old passports by issuing stamps instead of using lamination papers, a method now being rejected by foreign embassies.
The decision has left affected people with no choice but to apply for a new passport, once again.
The delay in the renewal and issuance of passports because of shortage of lamination papers has created problems for people looking to travel to other countries.
The decision to issue old passports with stamps, instead of having them laminated, is being attributed to former interior minister Rehman Malik.
Meanwile, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid on Sunday informed the National Assembly (NA) that the backlog of passports would be cleared within two weeks.
Responding to a calling attention notice, he said, “We have issued around 850,000 passports while around 150,000 will be issued within two weeks.”
He informed the House that around 20,000 passports were being issued daily to clear the backlog.
He said backlog of around 450,000 urgent passport applications had also been cleared.
He further said over 85,000 passports of Haj applicants had also been printed and dispatched.
He said the directorate had also been able to get ordinary and urgent passports of overseas Pakistanis printed and these were dispatched to concerned foreign missions.
Hamid said from now on, any applicant who applies for an urgent passport would get it in a week’s time.
but my pasport is going 14daylate. i have applied urgent.. i have to goto my father in UAE.. but the passprt call centre are not responding
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