KARACHI: In compliance with directives from the Ministry of Interior, Pakistani passport offices in Karachi and Lahore have begun round-the-clock operations.

As per a notification issued by the ministry, the regional passport office in Garden Town, Lahore, will remain open to the public 24/7, while in Karachi, the regional passport office at Awami Markaz will be operational 24 hours a day.

Services will be provided to the public in three shifts at these regional offices.

The move is expected to significantly alleviate the burden on existing passport offices and reduce waiting times for applicants.

According to sources, over 800,000 passports are currently pending printing, but this backlog is expected to be cleared soon with the purchase of new machinery and lamination paper.

The Passport and Immigration authorities are currently printing 20-25,000 passports while receiving 40-45,000 applications daily.

According to sources, over 550,000 passport applicants were facing two to three months of delays in the issuance of their passports.