Nisar orders 10-year duration for passports

The News Shakeel Anjum Wednesday, September 18, 2013 From Print Edition ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan has ordered that passports be issued for a ten-year period rather than five years and has also directed that all official passports issued against the rules and regulations be cancelled within three days. The minister visited the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports, Islamabad, on Tuesday. Sikandar Sultan Raja, Director General of Immigration and Passports, briefed the federal minister on the organisational setup and functions of the directorate. He highlighted the key achievements and accomplishments of the department. Speaking on the occasion the minister stated that the officers of the department should always start with the premise that “public is always right”. He said that the staff needs to perform to its utmost and always remember three key principles in their service; there shall be no tolerance for corruption, they should always work in accordance to the law and to remember that their service is towards the state of Pakistan. The minister also underlined the importance of public dealing in improving the image of the department. The DG Passports informed the minister that the directorate has completed the process of replacing manual passport with machine-readable passport system. He also briefed him about the special arrangements that have been made for the passport issuance to the Hujaj. The directorate has successfully cleared the entire backlog regarding the printing of passport and issuance of citizenship certificates. To facilitate the public and to improve the performance, the minister directed the DG Passports to initiate SMS-based service for the tracking of the passports within next seven days and a home delivery service in six major cities. He directed that the construction of new offices and renovation of old buildings be completed at the earliest. He ordered a new help-line complemented by a facilitation desk be set up at Islamabad office to address public complaints regarding passports.The minister asked the directorate to reconsider the fines imposed on lost passports and rationalise the charges. He instructed the directorate to draft a clear-cut policy on citizenship certificates and to modernise the visa extension process. The federal minister urged the staff not to cave in to any undue pressure and ordered an enquiry into politically influenced decisions taken in the past. Meanwhile, Governor Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Engineer Shaukatullah Khan called on Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan here in Islamabad today. Issues pertaining to the general law and order situation, especially in KPK province, were discussed in the meeting. The governor said that fresh peace efforts are very crucial to the peace and development of KPK province as it has been badly hit by the decade old wave of terrorism. The Governor hoped that the upcoming Internal Security Policy and government’s proactive and focused priority to improve the security environment would go a long way in establishing durable peace and stability in the region.