The Federal government has taken notice of the delay in passport issuance as it has been a major concern for applicants.
According to sources, over 800,000 passports are currently pending printing, but with the purchase of new machinery and lamination paper, this backlog is expected to be cleared soon. The Passport and Immigration authorities are currently printing 20-25,000 passports while receiving 40-45,000 applications daily.
To address the issue, tenders have been issued for the purchase of printing machines and e-passport machines, while international tenders have also been issued for the purchase of lamination paper. On March 30, it was reported that applicants are facing unusual delays in the issuance of their Pakistani passports.
According to sources, over 5,50,000 passport applicants are facing two to three months of delays in the issuance of their passports. Sources said that the Passport and Immigration Department failed to provide machine-readable and e-passports on time. A massive number of Pakistanis planning to go for Hajj and Umrah also severe delays in passport issuance, sources added. In response, the passport authorities said that the delay occurred as they were out of stock of ink and lamination paper, however, after the arrival of both items all passports will be cleared by June.
