Pakistan faces shortage of lamination paper to issue new passports. Pakistani citizens seeking to obtain new passports are facing a formidable hurdle – a severe shortage of lamination paper.
This scarcity has triggered a nationwide crisis, leaving thousands grappling with the inability to secure the crucial travel document.
The Express Tribune reports that individuals in need of passports for educational, professional, or leisure purposes are now caught in a distressing limbo, with no clear resolution in sight.
The predicament is particularly dire for students who have secured visas to pursue higher education in countries like the UK or Italy.
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With their passports delayed, these students are confronting the possibility of losing valuable opportunities and seeing their aspirations crumble.
Hira, a student, expressed her frustration, revealing that despite having an approved visa for Italy with a departure date in October, the unavailability of a passport has thwarted her plans.
This echoes a similar situation in 2013 when the Directorate General of Immigration & Passports (DGI&P) encountered delays in passport printing due to financial issues and a shortage of lamination papers.
The current crisis is attributed to a shortfall in lamination paper, a crucial component imported from France.
Qadir Yar Tiwana, the Director General for Media of the Ministry of Interior, moved to allay concerns, assuring citizens that the government is actively working to resolve the crisis promptly. Tiwana expressed confidence that normal passport issuance would resume shortly.
However, citizens have reported receiving misleading messages from the DGI&P, stating that their passports were ready for collection, only to be turned away when they visited the passport office.
Muhammad Imran, a resident of Peshawar, recounted the passport office repeatedly promising imminent passport delivery, yet failing to fulfill these assurances.
Reports indicate that passport offices in various Pakistani cities are also grappling with uncertainty regarding when normal processing will resume.
A senior official from the Peshawar passport office disclosed that they are presently processing a fraction of the passports compared to their usual capacity.
The official’s best estimate is another one to two months of waiting before the passport issuance process fully normalizes.
As Pakistan faces shortage of lamination paper to issue new passports, this shortage has not only created a logistical challenge but has also cast a shadow over the dreams and plans of numerous Pakistani citizens awaiting their passports.
