Poor performance: Interior ministry wants passport dept dissolved
As an autonomous body, the new passport authority will not be dependent on the finance division.
Passport department has over 700,000 applications pending for issuance of passports at present. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The ministry of interior has sent a summary to law division suggesting dissolution of the passport and immigration department (P&I) for its poor performance and making it an autonomous body.
The P&I department has over 700,000 applications pending for issuance of passports at present because it ran out of lamination paper two months ago.
Tender for procurement of new lamination has been awarded to a foreign firm; however, it would take at least a week for it to be delivered.
However, the department’s top bosses, instead of fixing responsibility for the system breakdown, have come up with a solution: an extreme step.
“They have suggested the government to dissolve the department which is currently under interior ministry’s control and make it into an autonomous body like Nadra,” said an officer of P&I. He did not want to be named.
He said that secretary ministry of interior Siddiq Akbar has sent a summary to law division, endorsed by director general P&I, for suggesting to president to dissolve the department.
“Making P&I an autonomous body can be done by a presidential ordinance and once the new government is in place, the National Assembly will make it into a law,” the officer said.
As an autonomous body, the new passport authority will not be dependent on the finance division. The P&I will keep its revenue earned from the issuance of passports and spend it on uninterrupted running of the system, said the officer.
“Last year, the passport department earned roughly Rs12 billion in revenue that went to finance division,” the officer added.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2013.
The ministry of interior has sent a summary to law division suggesting dissolution of the passport and immigration department (P&I) for its poor performance and making it an autonomous body.
The P&I department has over 700,000 applications pending for issuance of passports at present because it ran out of lamination paper two months ago.
Tender for procurement of new lamination has been awarded to a foreign firm; however, it would take at least a week for it to be delivered.
However, the department’s top bosses, instead of fixing responsibility for the system breakdown, have come up with a solution: an extreme step.
“They have suggested the government to dissolve the department which is currently under interior ministry’s control and make it into an autonomous body like Nadra,” said an officer of P&I. He did not want to be named.
He said that secretary ministry of interior Siddiq Akbar has sent a summary to law division, endorsed by director general P&I, for suggesting to president to dissolve the department.
“Making P&I an autonomous body can be done by a presidential ordinance and once the new government is in place, the National Assembly will make it into a law,” the officer said.
As an autonomous body, the new passport authority will not be dependent on the finance division. The P&I will keep its revenue earned from the issuance of passports and spend it on uninterrupted running of the system, said the officer.
“Last year, the passport department earned roughly Rs12 billion in revenue that went to finance division,” the officer added.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2013.