Taking a revolutionary step for the convenience of the people, the Government of Pakistan has taken the final decision to introduce the ‘Doorstep Passport Delivery Service’ to provide passports to citizens at their doorsteps. In this regard, new SOPs for passport delivery have also been finalized, after which citizens will no longer have to visit offices to obtain passports.
This important decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Director General (DG) Immigration and Passport Muhammad Ali Randhawa. During the meeting, a detailed review was taken of the progress made on the digital application of Immigration and Passport and other reforms.
According to officials, under this new service, after the passport is ready, it will be sent directly to the address given by the applicant through a designated courier company, for which citizens will have to pay only a nominal courier charge. In the first phase, this service is being activated across the country, while in the second phase, its scope will be extended to overseas Pakistanis.
Passport officials say that the main objective of this initiative is to eliminate long queues and agent mafia at passport offices. It was also informed in the meeting that an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot is also being launched soon to modernize the passport department, with the help of which citizens will be able to get information about the status of their passport from home.
In addition, from June 30, the traditional method of depositing cash fees at the National Bank will be eliminated, and the entire system will be made digital and cashless, where citizens will be able to pay fees from their mobile banking app through a QR code.
Read also: Pakistanis to receive passports at their doorstep: Officials
