BADIN: A regional passport office (RPO), a sixth in Sindh, was inaugurated in Badin on Sunday at a ceremony presided over by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sindh president Ismail Rahu and attended by a large number of people of the area.

Speaking on the occasion, MPA Rahu said the new RPO, set up on a directive of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, would start functioning on Monday to save thousands of people from the hassle of travelling more than 100 kilometres to reach Hyderabad for seeking passports.

He said that the PML-N government was committed to provide all essential services to citizens at the doorsteps.

He said the Sindh government had brought the province to the verge of collapse over the last eight years by neglecting each and every public facility and indulging in corruption. He said no remarkable development was witnessed during the long period while corruption had made citizens’ life miserable. More than Rs2 billion remained unutilised as work on approved development schemes could not be started or completed, he observed.

Mr Rahu criticised PML-N opponents for demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s resignation, and said that those who wanted corruption, terrorism and lawlessness to prevail in the country were making such a demand.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sindh director of immigration and passport Khalid Memon told the audience that up to 50-60 applications for passports would be processed at the Badin RPO every day.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2016