Pakistani labourers can now extend passport validity to 10 years on same fee

• The minister said a new E-passport would be launched from April 28 next year.
  
• The new passport will be issued at the previous fee of Rs 3,000 and this decision will be implemented from January 1.
  
• Rashid said a one-week ultimatum had been given to the elements involved in sale and purchase of smuggled petroleum products.
  

ISLAMABAD: Aiming to facilitate the country’s labour community working abroad, especially in Middle Eastern countries, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Thursday announced an extension of the passport validity from five years to 10 years without any additional fee.

Addressing the media after visiting the office of the directorate general of the Immigration and Passport, the minister said: "The new passport will be issued at the previous fee of Rs 3,000 and this decision will be implemented from January 1. It is a gift from Prime Minister Imran Khan for all the Pakistani labour community, especially in the Middle East."

He clarified that the decision would not be applicable on ‘official and red’ passports as the facility was only meant for Pakistan’s labour class.

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The minister said a new E-passport would be launched from April 28 next year and it would help maintain data on modern lines and improve the country’s image abroad.

The minister said an express service was being launched across the country under which home delivery of Passports would be provided to citizens. “The facility has been activated in Islamabad and will soon be available in Rawalpindi,” he added.

An SMS service had also begun from today (December 24) in a bid to inform passport holders six months before the expiry of their passports, he said. 

He said the passport and immigration department was short of funds and assured that their financial matters would be resolved at the earliest.

One week ultimatum 

Sheikh Rasheed said a one-week ultimatum had been given to the elements involved in sale and purchase of smuggled petroleum products in the country to end their illegal activities.

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He stated that the petrol pumps selling smuggled and substandard fuel would be shut down. On the expiry of the deadline, he warned that punitive action would be taken against all those involved in the illegal trade undermining the national economy.

Answering a question, the minister said the visa process for Chinese engineers, working on different projects of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), would be made easier.

The minister went on to add that the directives had been issued to review the existing Exit Control List (ECL), adding THAT as many as 66,000 people were on the blacklist of the Federal Investigation Agency and 44, 000 on the passport department’s list.

Rasheed also said that he had been made in-charge of the committee looking into ECL-related matters.