Travel woes: Delays in renewal of passports stall business
KCCI urges govt to intervene on emergency basis and resolve issue.
The government has failed to portray the true picture of Pakistan with all its strength and potential in countries around the globe, says KCCI president.
KARACHI:
Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (KCCI) President Muhammad Haroon Agar has expressed deep concern over inordinate delays in passport renewal requests, stating that members are approaching the KCCI with complaints about unwarranted delays. He said businesspersons fear that their businesses would suffer if they could not proceed abroad to attend scheduled meetings.
Agar said that due to the negative travel advisories issued by foreign missions, foreign buyers are reluctant to visit Pakistan, leaving the business community with no choice but to proceed abroad to the buyer’s country and other destinations for business meetings.
Agar added that the government has failed to portray the true picture of Pakistan with all its strength and potential in countries around the globe. He said that the government has failed to revive the confidence of international investors and buyers and to encourage them to visit Pakistan for investment and to meet their Pakistani business counterparts.
“The delays in passport renewal are adding to hardships faced by the Pakistani business community,” he said.
He said the backlog of 700,000 requests, which has been created in the last month, should have been cleared this month, but no emergency measures had been taken to control the situation. He added that it appeared as if the tender for lamination paper had been delayed to provide an opportunity to department officers to grease their palms with illegal gratification.
He appealed to the president and the caretaker prime minister to immediately intervene, and requested them to entertain renewal or new passport requests on a priority basis. He also demanded that dedicated passport counters be opened for members of the business and industrial community at all regional directorate generals of immigration and passports across Pakistan to facilitate international travelling.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2013.
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Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (KCCI) President Muhammad Haroon Agar has expressed deep concern over inordinate delays in passport renewal requests, stating that members are approaching the KCCI with complaints about unwarranted delays. He said businesspersons fear that their businesses would suffer if they could not proceed abroad to attend scheduled meetings.
Agar said that due to the negative travel advisories issued by foreign missions, foreign buyers are reluctant to visit Pakistan, leaving the business community with no choice but to proceed abroad to the buyer’s country and other destinations for business meetings.
Agar added that the government has failed to portray the true picture of Pakistan with all its strength and potential in countries around the globe. He said that the government has failed to revive the confidence of international investors and buyers and to encourage them to visit Pakistan for investment and to meet their Pakistani business counterparts.
“The delays in passport renewal are adding to hardships faced by the Pakistani business community,” he said.
He said the backlog of 700,000 requests, which has been created in the last month, should have been cleared this month, but no emergency measures had been taken to control the situation. He added that it appeared as if the tender for lamination paper had been delayed to provide an opportunity to department officers to grease their palms with illegal gratification.
He appealed to the president and the caretaker prime minister to immediately intervene, and requested them to entertain renewal or new passport requests on a priority basis. He also demanded that dedicated passport counters be opened for members of the business and industrial community at all regional directorate generals of immigration and passports across Pakistan to facilitate international travelling.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2013.
Like Business on Facebook to stay informed and join in the conversation.