(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The first machine-readable Pakistani passport with a validity of 10 years was issued to a senior citizen at a ceremony held at the Pakistan Consulate, Dubai on Sunday. With this, Pakistani nationals in the UAE will now be able to get passports valid for 10 years instead of the current validity of five years. The processing fee, however, has been upped by 80 per cent
Javed Khattak, the Consul-General of Pakistan to the UAE, said by extending the validity of this basic facility, the Pakistan government has addressed the main problem faced by expat Pakistanis. "This is a good step," he said. "We have a large expat community here who have been facing various problems with regard to visa expiry and other similar issues.
The first passport was given to Chaudary Abdul Hameed, Chairman of Ravi Restaurant group. "This move is welcomed by the community," he said
People have also been given the option of applying for a 100-page passport, which can be obtained by paying Dh542, while a 36-page passport now costs Dh272, against the earlier cost of Dh151 for a passport with a five-year validity. A 72-page passport costs Dh497
After clearing the backlog of delayed passports, Khattak said, delivery of passports - which are issued in Islamabad - is being done on time. "An urgent passport is delivered within 8-10 days," he said
An estimated 450-500 passport renewals are applied for on a daily basis. "The consulate issues 10,000 passports on a monthly basis," he added. On December 31, 2013, the Pakistan government stopped issuing manual passports
Talking about the expansion plans of the consulate, Khattak said details would be revealed soo
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