ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has taken notice of prolonged delays in issuance of passports to overseas Pakistanis and directed authorities to ensure their issuance within the stipulated time period, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday.
The directives came during a visit by the interior minister, who is currently in the United Kingdom, to Pakistan’s Immigration and Passports and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) offices in London.
Naqvi took notice of the complaints that it took overseas Pakistanis as much as four months to get their normal passports, while the urgent ones were being issued in one-and-a-half month, according to a report published by the Radio Pakistan broadcaster.
Naqvi told officials to ensure the issuance of normal passports within 30 days and the urgent ones within a week, saying the policy would be applicable to all Pakistani missions abroad.
“No delay will be tolerated anymore and action will be taken against non-issuance of passport within stipulated time,” the interior minister was quoted as saying in the report.
He also established a monitoring cell to ensure timely delivery of passports, according to the report. The monitoring cell would be headed by personal staff officer to the minister, Shahrbano Naqvi.
Overseas Pakistanis can email their complaints about delays in issuance of passports to [email protected], Radio Pakistan reported.
The Pakistani interior minister is currently on an official visit to the United Kingdom. During his visit, Pakistan and the UK have agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism, organized crime and prevention of illegal immigration.
On Sunday, Naqvi also met former member of British parliament, Khalid Mehmood, in London, Radio Pakistan reported.
“During the meeting, they discussed measures to resolve the issues facing overseas Pakistanis in detail,” the report read.
“Khalid Mehmood expressed gratitude to Mohsin Naqvi for addressing the matter of passport issuance for Overseas Pakistanis within a specific timeline.”
Naqvi appreciated the contributions of overseas Pakistanis and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to facilitate them at all levels.
Minister asks authorities to timely issue passports to overseas Pakistanis, warns against delays
https://arab.news/z8tvt
Minister asks authorities to timely issue passports to overseas Pakistanis, warns against delays
- It took overseas Pakistanis reportedly four months to get normal passports, while the urgent ones required 45 days
- Interior Minister asks officials to ensure issuance of normal passports within 30 days and urgent ones within a week
Pakistan’s ‘Air Punjab’ faces scrutiny over Gulfstream jet purchase
- Punjab government calls luxury jet part of planned airline awaiting regulatory approval
- Aviation experts question the viability of the 17-seat aircraft for commercial operations
ISLAMABAD: Aviation experts and an official on Saturday questioned the commercial viability of the move as the Punjab government said it had acquired a Gulfstream luxury aircraft as part of “Air Punjab,” an upcoming airline registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) but yet to secure key regulatory approvals.
The development comes months after the federal government moved ahead with the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), citing its inability to sustainably run the debt-ridden national carrier.
Air Punjab (Private) Limited was incorporated with the SECP on July 24, 2025, under registration number 0302317. The concept was first introduced by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in April 2025, with plans to launch operations within a year using leased aircraft. The provincial cabinet subsequently approved the airline’s establishment. However, an official told Arab News that the project remains at a preliminary stage.
“They have not got their license yet,” the official in the aviation department told Arab News on condition of anonymity, adding the airline still has to go through processes to be able to start operations.
The aircraft in question, a Gulfstream G500, registration N144S, arrived in Lahore from North America in December 2025 and began local flight operations on February 6, 2026. Online flight records show the jet was used at least 15 times between February 9 and February 18 for short trips to cities including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Dera Ghazi Khan and Faisalabad, with flight durations ranging from 14 to 37 minutes. It frequently used the call sign “Punjab 2.”
Responding to criticism that the aircraft had been inducted for the Punjab chief minister, the provincial information minister Azma Bukhari on Friday defended the purchase.
“For our ‘Air Punjab,’ we are buying various aircraft and some we will take on lease,” she said. “This means we have to build a fleet which will have all kinds of planes, and this is a part of that same link. Right now, as soon as the matters on this are finalized, I will definitely tell you.”
The aviation official said the aircraft was a 17-seater and couldn’t be used for commercial flights.
“The smallest aircraft used for commercial operations now is the ATR, which has around 48 [ATR 42-500] to 70 [ATR 72-500] seats. How can an airline be operated with a Gulfstream jet that is configured for VIP travel and has previously been used for executive flights? It is not commercially viable,” he said.
Speaking about the technical aspects, Afsar Malik, an independent aviation expert, said the provincial minister had probably been mistaken when she said the aircraft was for the upcoming airline.
“The Gulfstream is state aircraft and state aircraft cannot be used for commercial purpose,” he said. “Secondly, it’s not commercially viable. If Punjab information minister has said it, it would either be a slip of the tongue or ignorance.”
The planned launch of the provincial carrier comes as Pakistan’s aviation sector tries to recover from its deepest crisis in decades. The industry’s decline was interrupted in late 2025 by the federal government’s sale of the debt-ridden national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), to a private consortium after the state could not sustain losses exceeding 800 billion rupees ($2.8 billion).
The private sector has proven equally volatile. Regulators recently suspended the license of Serene Air after its entire five-aircraft fleet was deemed “unserviceable,” leaving it with zero operational capacity.
“Twelve airlines have shut down since the sector’s inception,” said aviation consultant Irshad Ghani, noting that Serene Air joined a long list of failed carriers including Shaheen Air and Bhoja Air.
High capital requirements and rising airfares have hollowed out the domestic market, leaving ventures like Air Punjab facing immense skepticism in an industry Ghani describes as “fragile.”
Ghani, who heads an aviation consultancy firm, said PIA had operated 19-seater ATR turboprop aircraft in the past, particularly to serve smaller airports such as Sargodha where larger jets could not land. However, he drew a distinction between turboprops designed for commercial routes and executive jets.
“As far as the Gulfstream jet is concerned, it has been operated as a chartered aircraft, and it can also be used for charter operations by an airline. However, that would typically be the case for a well-established or large airline,” Ghani said.
He questioned the broader logic of the project.
“The question arises: when the federal government has just sold the national airline, acknowledging that the government could not successfully run it, how logical is it for a provincial government to operate its own airline?” he asked.
Ghani said he doubted it will be run successfully.
“If Punjab had the capacity to operate a public airline, why didn’t it consider purchasing PIA instead,” he wondered.
Minister Bukhari did not respond to Arab News queries regarding the Gulfstream and Air Punjab.
