LAHORE:
On January 8, 2013, I went to the Garden Town passport office in Lahore where I saw high-level corruption taking place right in front of my eyes. The Garden Town office has a room on the top floor reserved only for the elite. It is only the poor people who are expected to stand in queues in Pakistan. The aforementioned room is meant for those who can pay Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 easily and get their passports within two to three days, and sometimes even on the same day. I have to say with a sinking heart that I applied for my passport in January. It should have been delivered to me in 15 days. Four months have passed but I have still not received my passport. Whenever I go to the office asking about the passport’s status, the person concerned tells me that the passport is not ready yet. Passport agents, on the other hand, have asked me for Rs10,000 in exchange for delivering my passport.
I am sure that if I give this amount to the agent, he will deliver my passport within two days. But why should I pay this amount when I have already paid the passport fee? Where are the checks and balances that should be present in every government department? Where is the rule of law?
I request the authorities concerned to resolve this issue as soon as possible and help poor people like me who cannot afford to pay an extra Rs10,000 just to get a passport.
Mumtaz Hussain
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2013.
