Three-month deadline: Pakistanis in KSA to renew passports

JEDDAH: Pakistani expatriates in Saudi Arabia must have machine-readable passports (MRPs) within three months, Arab News quoted Interior Minister Rehman Malik as saying. The minister said that Pakistan will help its citizens meet the deadline, adding that Pakistani consulate officials are in touch with Saudi authorities to get the expatriates’ clearance and approval. He said that NADRA has been instructed to immediately clear the backlog. Malik also urged Pakistanis to use legal banking means to remit money. “Presently, annual remittances stand at $2.9 billion,” Malik said, adding that if the 1.8 million Pakistanis living in Saudi Arabia even send $300 each as remittance, the total would exceed the current amount.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2011.