Due to an alarming lack of lamination paper, the issuing of Pakistani passports has been temporarily halted nationally.
According to sources, Pakistani passport offices are currently receiving up to 25,000 applications each day for passport renewals and new issuances. However, due to the country’s shortage of lamination paper, this rise in demand has resulted in a considerable backlog, which has now reached 500,000 applications.
In response to this challenge, Pakistan’s interior ministry has taken steps to address the issue. They have placed an order for the much-needed lamination paper, and it is expected to arrive in the country within a week. However, concerns are growing that the backlog of passport applications may swell to one million, given the one-week delivery period and an additional seven days for customs clearance once the order arrives in Pakistan.
As part of their efforts to manage this situation, the passport department has also revised the official delivery timelines for passport issuance. For regular passport applications, the delivery time has been extended, now taking a maximum of 21 working days, in contrast to the previous 10-day timeframe.
This development highlights the challenges that administrative processes can face when dealing with unforeseen supply shortages and surges in demand. The Pakistani government is actively working to resolve the lamination paper shortage and address the mounting backlog of passport applications, but it may take some time to return to normal passport issuance operations.
