ISLAMABAD: The government has abolished the condition that passport will be issued only from the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in whose jurisdiction the permanent or temporary address of the applicant, as recorded in the Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC).
As per the new policy, now citizens can apply for issuance of passport from any district.
According to a notification issued by Director General Immigration and Passport (DGI&P), the national data is digitally accessible and verifiable; therefore, in order to facilitate passport applicants nation-wide, a proposal for amendment in the Rule 6 of Passport Rules 2021 has already been forwarded to the Ministry of Interior.
It says that the same has been vetted by Law Division as well as the CCLC for kind consideration and seeking approval of the federal cabinet and the same is likely to be notified, shortly.
It says that now, the DG I& P has directed that relaxation in jurisdiction policy shall be provided by all passport issuing authorities at home to facilitate the passport applicants nationwide.
It says that all zonal heads are hereby directed to implement the same in true letter and spirit, as per following revised Rule 6 of Passport Rules 2021 [6. Jurisdiction: Every Citizen of Pakistan may apply for Passport Services from any Passport office irrespective of their address recorded in the (CNIC)/National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP)/Child Registration Certificate (CRC)]. Foregoing in view, henceforth no passport services should be denied merely on the basis of address/jurisdiction, it says.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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