The issuance and distribution process of Afghan passports has been suspended starting on Saturday, October 8, according to a statement from the Taliban Ministry of Interior Affairs.
In the statement issued on Thursday, the Taliban Ministry of Interior stated that the process of issuing Afghan passports had been put on hold while technical teams worked to repair the tools and equipment used by the Passport Department.
The Taliban General Directorate of Passport claimed that it intends to enforce several beneficial and positive changes in the office’s technical and equipment system to step up the process of providing services and expedite applicant procedures.
The announcement reveals that printing equipment and other technical devices need to be repaired or replaced over time due to the printing and distribution of 4,000 to 5,000 passports to applicants each day at the central passport office in Kabul.
According to the announcement, because the technical repair process will take some time to complete, the issuance of passports and provision of other related services must be suspended until it is completed.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Interior has asked those seeking passports to delay going to the General Directorate of Passports until the upcoming announcement, which will be posted on the news websites of both this ministry and the General Directorate of Passports.
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, there has been an increase in the demand for passports, which has led to migration waves.
This comes after the Taliban administration recurrently stopped issuing passports over the course of the previous year, and for the past few months, only the central office has been responsible for issuing them.—Tolo News
