Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday said the backlog of passports has been completely eradicated across the country.
He said this while inaugurating the state-of-the-art Immigration and Passports Headquarters and Islamabad Regional Passport Office for the facilitation of the citizens here in Islamabad.
While addressing the inauguration ceremony, the Interior Minister announced that the Islamabad Regional Passport Office will remain open 24/7.
He said there are 14 NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority) Mega Centers in various cities across the country, and passport counters will also be made functional at these centres to facilitate the public.
The Interior Minister added that model centers for passports will also be established in Karachi and Lahore. He also highlighted that the backlog of passports has been completely eliminated across the country, and citizens will now receive their passports within the stipulated time.
He congratulated the Director General Passports and entire staff on this achievement. Mohsin Naqvi said that earlier there was a backlog of around six months.
He said last week, when he visited the passport and NADRA centers in Lahore and Karachi, he was very pleased, as people expressed their satisfaction, the conditions of passport and NADRA centers had changed completely and there was no rush.
The Interior Minister highlighted that the problems of this institution can be solved by transforming it into an authority. He said the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) is cracking down on the agent mafia outside the passport offices.
He appreciated the staff of the passport office for their good performance. Director General Immigration and Passports Mustafa Jamal Qazi said that according to the vision of the Interior Minister, the services of the passport office have been improved.
The Interior Minister also visited the new reception, online section, production center and data center. He presented shields and cash prizes to the staff who showed exemplary performance during the production of passports.
Chairman NADRA Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar, Additional Secretaries Riffat Mukhtar Raja and Ayub Chaudhry, Chief Commissioner Islamabad Muhammad Ali Randhawa, Inspector General Islamabad Police Ali Nasir Rizvi and concerned officials were also present on the occasion.