Pakistan High Commission started issuing Machine Readable Passports (MRP) here on Monday to British Pakistanis having National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) while those having old Identity Cards would get an ordinary passport for only three months.
Briefing the reporters, Minister Co-ordination Pakistan High Commission, Shah Meboob Alam said the MRP to be produced in Pakistan would be issued on the old price of 30 Sterling Pounds while 70 for an urgent passport until the announcement of the new rates by the Government.
Pakistan's High Commissioner to London, Dr Maleeha Lodhi was also present at the briefing. The MRP would be for five years and there would be no manual entries of children on passports of their mothers, children even new-borns wiould have to get their own passports on the rates applicable to the adults. An ordinary MRP would be issued within 12 days while urgent passport would take six days.
Alam said the MRP would help improve the image of the country and those having this passport would get prompt clearance from the immigration authorities.
Replying to a question, he said the ordinary passport for three months would be issued to those British Pakistanis who had genuine reasons and were possessing old ID cards. If they could not get NICOP within this period their passport could be extended for another three months or even for a year depending on the nature of cases.