- The scarcity of lamination paper in Pakistan is resulting in delays in the issuance of new passports, causing hardships for citizens.
- The lamination paper, used in passports is imported from France, and its shortage has resulted in a nationwide scarcity of the travel document.
- The Government is doing its best to navigate the crisis.
- Pakistan faced a similar halt in passport printing in 2013
The scarcity of lamination paper in Pakistan is resulting in delays in the issuance of new passports, causing hardships for citizens. While the government has provided assurances that the situation will be resolved soon, there is a sense of doubt and skepticism among the public.
According to the country’s Directorate General of Immigration & Passports (DGI&P) the lamination paper, which is used in passports is imported from France, and its shortage has resulted in a nationwide scarcity of the travel document.
Qadir Yar Tiwana, the Director General for Media of the Ministry of Interior, the parent ministry of DGI&P, said that the government was doing its best to navigate the crisis.
This shortage has impacted thousands of Pakistanis who had travel plans abroad. Numerous students are facing impending admission deadlines at universities worldwide and have blamed the inefficiency of the Pakistan government for the crisis.
According to The Express Tribune, thousands of individuals, who require the green-coloured passport for overseas travel, whether for educational, professional, or leisure purposes, find themselves in a predicament with no immediate solution in sight.
It’s worth noting that this inefficiency is not an isolated incident. The Express Tribune reported that in 2013, passport production also came to a standstill due to the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGI&P) owing money to printers and a shortage of lamination papers.
The Pakistan-based news daily reported quoting, Faizan, a resident of North Nazimabad in Karachi, a city which receives around 3,000 passport applications every day as per official estimates, does not buy Tiwana’s assurances. “I submitted my application more than 2 months ago and have not received my passport yet,” he said, further adding that he had to cancel his leisure trip because of the DGI&P’s mismanagement.
It appears that regional passport offices in various cities are also uncertain about a specific timeline for resolving the issue. For instance, a senior officer at the passport office in Peshawar, speaking anonymously to The Express Tribune, revealed that they can currently process only 12 to 13 passports per day, a significant decrease compared to the previous capacity of 3,000 to 4,000 passports per day. Furthermore, the official expressed uncertainty about when the backlog would be resolved, suggesting that people might have to wait for another month or two.
On the other hand, Saeed Ahmed Abbasi, the Director of Passports and Immigration at the Zonal Office Saddar in Karachi, refrained from providing a timeline when questioned about the issue. He mentioned that officially, he was not in a position to provide a response regarding the timeline for resolving the passport shortage.
(With inputs from agencies)
