The interior ministry has reported a surge in passport applications, with 45,000 to 50,000 applications submitted daily, while current resources allow only 20,000 to 22,000 passports to be issued per day.
During a National Assembly session, Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi confirmed delays in passport issuance, explaining that the system, established in 2004, initially handled just 30 passport offices in Pakistan and ten foreign missions. Over the years, these numbers have risen to 223 offices locally and 93 overseas missions.
In response to the backlog, the government has introduced 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operations across three shifts to expedite production.
The interior minister also said that while urgent passports are available for higher fees, these charges depend on applicants’ preferences under the “normal,” “urgent,” and “fast track” categories.
Pakistani passport ranked fourth worst in world
For the fourth straight year, the Pakistani passport has been ranked the fourth worst by this year’s Henley Passport Index.
Pakistan tied with Yemen at 100th place out of 103 spots in the rankings.
In the latest ranking, Pakistan’s travel document is only ranked higher than those of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s passport permits visa-free access to 33 states, Syria’s gives access to 30 destinations, Iraq’s allows travel to 29 and Afghanistan’s travel document only affords the bearer access to 29 destinations.
