THE Directorate-General of Immigration and Passports has stated that passport delivery counters would remain open all over the country on weekends to facilitate Hajj pilgrims from March 2 to March 15. In a press release, it said issuance of passports for prospective Hajj pilgrims has commenced across Pakistan, bringing relief and anticipation to thousands of individuals preparing for performing Hajj.
The department has done well by keeping its offices open on seven days of the week in order to cope with the rush of the work, especially with the onset of the Hajj season. Smooth and early issuance of passports to the intending Hajj pilgrims would help the Ministry of Religious Affairs in completing all formalities in an orderly and timely manner. However, it may be pointed out that for quite some time, people are facing great hardships in getting passports because of the inordinate delays that remain unexplained. Passports used to be handed over to the applicants in a few days or two/three weeks but now they are being delivered after over four months. Similar delays last year forced some applicants to approach the Federal Ombudsman, who constituted an inspection team, which was informed by the officials concerned that the printing of the passports got delayed due to non-availability of the lamination paper. The Ombudsman was assured that the backlog will be cleared soon as the lamination paper was now in hand but the pledge remains unfulfilled. The issue needs to be investigated in a transparent manner as there was absolutely no justification for any lapse in timely procurement of the lamination paper or increasing the number of printing facilities as people pay much more than the original cost of the document. This should be done on an urgent basis as people (potential earners of foreign exchange for the country) are losing job opportunities abroad due to extraordinary delay in issuance of passports besides hurdles for those who want to proceed abroad for religious purposes.
