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
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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 stock market sheds over 5,400 points amid US-Iran tensions, lack of risk appetite
- Trump said on Thursday he would decide in ‘10 or 15 days’ whether to order strikes on Iran if no nuclear deal is reached
- Despite the decline, the market witnessed trading activity, with 461 million shares traded and a turnover of $89 million
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) tumbled sharply and lost more than 5,400 points on Monday, the market data showed, amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran and a marked lack of investor risk appetite.
The benchmark KSE-100 index 5,478 points, or 3.16 percent, to close at 167,691 points on Monday as compared to Friday’s close of 173,169 points, according to the PSX website.
The development comes a day after US President Donald Trump said he would decide in “10 or 15 days” whether to order strikes on Iran if no nuclear deal is reached. Iran has said any US attack would be an “act of aggression” that would precipitate a response.
“Risk appetite remains fragile. Markets are still pricing uncertainty,” Muhammad Waqas Ghani, head of research at JS Global Capital, told Arab News.
“Investors don’t wait for inflation prints, trade disruptions, or macro data to confirm the damage, they sell first on heightened geopolitical risk.”
During the intra-day trade, the index fluctuated within the range of 174,336 to 166,886 points, largely influenced by rollover-week dynamics, according to a market review by Topline Securities.
Index-heavy constituents, including Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC), Lucky Cement (LUCK), Engro Holdings (ENGROH), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL), emerged as the principal laggards, collectively dragging the benchmark down by 1,797 points during the session.
Despite the decline, the market witnessed trading activity, with total volume of 461 million shares and turnover amounting to Rs24.9 billion ($89 million). K-Electric led the volumes chart, recording over 35.9 million shares traded.
