GUJRAT: The federal government has transferred the entire staff of Gujrat Regional Passport Office for being allegedly involved in corruption and other malpractices, suspending its assistant director from service.

Moreover, five officials of Gujrat police, who were on security duty at the local passport office and guards of a private company, have also been replaced for “corrupt practices”, including minting money from the passport seekers in the name of “processing” their applications.

According to an official notification issued by the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DG I&P), Islamabad, on Friday, Gujrat Regional Passport Office (RPO) Assistant Director Saeed Abbas, a BPS-17 officer, who had been serving there for the last two years, was suspended from service on the charges of malpractices, including “corruption and misconduct”.

It says a two-members inquiry team has been constituted to probe the allegations of irregularities in the collection of government fee for the issuance of passport, that will submitted its report within a fortnight.

Assistant director suspended from service

Shahzad Aslam, a BPS-17 officer of DG I&P, Islamabad, has been posted as the new assistant director at the Gujrat RPO, whereas eight other members of the staff have been transferred and replaced with others officials.

It is learnt that the concerned authorities have also banned the posting of the private security guards removed from the RPO, at any other passport office across the country. However, sources say one of these private guards is still working at the RPO despite the orders.

Official source says the Gujrat district police officer has transferred the policemen posted as guards at the passport office, replacing them with other officials, on the request of DG I&P.

They say the action has been taken against the assistant director and others following an initial report of a fact-finding team comprising senior officers of the DG I&P that had paid a surprise visit to the Gujrat RPO on the directions of Federal Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan.

The sources added that a former PML-N lawmaker from Gujrat city Haji Imran Zafar had lodged a complaint about the corrupt practices going on at the RPO with the interior minister, who had ordered an inquiry into the matter. Later, a senior officer paid a surprise visit to the office and made video footage as a “proof” of involvement of the AD and his staff in exploiting the visitors in the name of processing of their applications and other wrongdoings.

They said that some officials and members of security staff also misbehaved with the senior officer who was on a surprise visit to the office, and he had to call police for help.

The then DG I&P Zulfiqar Cheema had also removed the entire staff of Gujrat passport office on similar complaints a few years ago, whereas the police security guards had also been removed some years back.

A senior official suggested that police guards should be transferred after regular intervals and not remain posted at the RPO more than two months to avoid a nexus between them and the office staff to exploit the visitors, whereas senior officers should also pay surprise visits to the RPO regularly.

Gujrat is native district of a large number of overseas Pakistanis, who are routinely exploited by the officials at the local passport office.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2022