People in Islamabad are voicing their concerns over the massive delay in the issuance of passports at the Executive Passport Office in Blue Area, Islamabad.
According to the official website of the Directorate General of Immigration & Passports, the urgent passport should be issued within “five working days.” However, experiences from people paint a different picture.
A person who works at company had a really concerning situation. They paid extra money to get their passport processed quickly. However, the staff told them that even with the urgent processing fee, it would still take 10 days to get their passport.
This situation involves processing times for two types of passport services: regular and expedited. The regular service usually takes around 15 days, while the expedited service was expected to be quicker but is only slightly faster now due to delays.
The fees for these services are different, which seems odd because the processing times are quite similar due to the delays. Additionally, a receipt initially mentioned a five-day processing time, but it was changed to ten days by a Passport Office worker.
While delays can occasionally be expected due to a surge in applications, such a doubling in the processing time of an urgent request leads to considerable inconveniences for citizens who rely on quick services, especially in emergency situations.
“It makes no sense,” the media company employee complained. “I paid extra for the urgent processing. If there’s hardly any difference between the standard and urgent processing times, why have the option at all?” he argued.
