The process for issuance of passports to inland and overseas Pakistanis hit snags due to shortage of ink and lamination paper for several months, leaving the applicants perturbed.

The Passport and Immigration Department is facing a backlog of over 500,000 passport applications due to slow printing process.

As a result, hundreds of Pakistanis residing in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and others countries have been waiting for their passports for months.

Many individuals who wished to perform Hajj and Umrah are also experiencing mental distress due to not receiving their passports on time.

An applicant told local media that the passports are only being issued to those who has paid urgent and fast-track fees, adding there is no relief for those applying in normal category.

Another person said he intended to go for Umrah during Ramadan but he has not received the passport so far.

Passport authorities claimed that the shortage of ink and laminating paper was causing the delay. Both items are now available, and all passports will be cleared by June.

Passport Issuance Update for Pakistanis in UAE, UK

As the laminating paper and ink are available to the department, the Pakistanis residing in the UAE, UK will soon receive their passports.

Normally, normal applications may take up to 20 working days for the passport to be processed while urgent passport applications may take up to 12 working days.