FAISALABAD:
A passport applicant was beaten up by security guards and some passport office employees on Thursday following an argument between him and an official.
Umar Khalid alleged that a relative of the regional director, a passport office employee, had taken a Rs20,000 bribe from him to help him get a passport urgenly. He said two months had passed, but he did not get the passport.
On Thursday, he said, he visited the office and asked for his money to be returned. This led to an argument between them and some office boys and guards beat him up. He said one of them hit him on the face with a pistol, breaking a tooth. He said instead of taking action against them, the police had taken him to the police station for questioning.
Police said they were told that he had misbehaved with the passport office staff. They said Khalid was let go after questioning.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2013.
COMMENTS (10)
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The fault lies with us - we shouldn't be bribing to get it done, no matter what.
@KDP If bribe is legalized, thert will ask for commission over bribe.
Indian and Pakistani governments should make Bribes legal. Government should determine and set rate of payment for every employee (according to their position) involved in carrying out a specific work for their citizens. That will eliminate dispute about what the going rate of bribe is. Just add lump sum amount termed as "Compensation" (rather than bribe) as a separate entry in list of fees. At the end of the day or at the end of a set period, total compensation can be distributed among all relevant employees according to the set percent of total collection. This may help eliminate bribery to some extent.
@Hamza: You spoke my words .....
All our institutions have been destroyed by our leadership. I went myself to passport office recently to renew my passport. I was astonished to see atmosphere there. There was no helpline or helpdesk in office to provide guidance. I visited same office in 2008 and it was working well, but now in 2013, it wasn,t look like office. It was just like fish market.
Start to lock up all bribe givers, then there will be no bribe takers.
This condemnable and must not be tolerated by anyone, especially those of us who are treated in such insulting manner b those who are appointed as our civil servents at our cost to take care of our administrative works. It's time that these fools are made to realize that they are servents of the people and must be civile when dealing with the poeple here.
The injustice, the mockery of common sense makes my blood boil. Literally it makes my blood boil. Stuff like this leads to sane minds such as myself condoning violence against those bloodthirsty leeches who suck the patience out of the "common people". They deserve to die in a very public, broadcast on national TV, execution.
The going rate is 5000 to get a manual stamp on your passport to have it renewed with no guarantee that this manual stamp will be accepted at embassies. In 10,000 you can get the new passport in 7-10 days. This is from a personal experience in the Garden Town Lahore Passport Office. If anyone has doubts please go and verify for yourself. Its in Sher Shah Block near Barkat Market. HEIGHT of Corruption.