GUJRAT: Hundreds of applicants intending to go abroad throng the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) liaison office in Gujrat daily,seeking attestation of documents, making it difficult for its staff to handle the rush.

As per officials, at least 400 applicants visit the MoFA camp office here daily, with just half of them being accommodated by the staff.

Official sources say that a mini post office had to be set up at the camp office to provide the Rs10 and Rs25 receipt tickets required for the attestation purposes. The camp office officials also provide the tickets, being brought from Islamabad, to the applicants, they say, adding that some of the visitors have complained about overcharging by the local staff.

The MoFA camp office started functioning here around a couple of weeks ago, attracting a large number of visitors.

Only half of the visitors could be accommodated because of staff shortage

Given the rush, the MoFA officials have to seek police’s assistance to control the applicants.

A student from Jalalpur Jattan told Dawn that he had been coming to the office for the last two days, but could not get the documents attested due to the rush. He demanded that the necessary information about the attestation process should also be displayed outside of the MoFA office gate for the visitors.

Some other applicants also suggested establishment of a help desk outside the office for the provision of initial information and checking of the documents to avoid unnecessary hassles.

However, most of the visitors commended the establishment of MoFA liaison office in Gujrat, saying now they don’t have to go to Islamabad or Lahore for the attestation of documents.

The applicants from different cities, including Mandi Bahauddin, Jhelum, Wazirabad and Bhimbher (Azad Jammu and Kashmir) usually reach the MoFA office at around 4am to 5am in the morning and join the queues.

A large number of women applicants is also seen outside of the camp office.

The MoFA camp office in Gujrat had been approved by the then foreign minister, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on the proposal floated by party stalwart Qamar Zaman Kaira last year.

MoFA Gujrat office Assistant Director Mr Ehtesham says that there was no need of mini post office as the tickets are being provided to the applicants by the staff inside the camp office.

He denied the reports of overcharging by officials.

He says that since the office started functioning here just two weeks ago, there could be some shortcomings which would be overcome. The office has so far been working smoothly, he claimed.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2024