LAHORE: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi suspended two senior officers of the passport office, Garden Town, from service over irregularities and ordered a disciplinary action against them, during a surprise visit here on Monday.

During the visit, Naqvi witnessed a chaos-like situation at the office and noticed several irregularities being committed.

“Agents [touts] were roaming inside the office and dealing with security guards and officials, offering bribes. A machine was made intentionally dysfunctional. Moreover, a large number of applicants approached the minister and registered their complaints, informing him about the corruption and malpractices at the regional passport office, Garden Town, Lahore,” says a notification regarding the suspension of Deputy Director Fiazul Hassan (zonal head) and Assistant Director Muhammad Nasim.

The notification says the minister observed that the office was plagued by corruption, bribes being offered and a dominant agent mafia operating there. The token machine was also found to be malfunctioning, causing frustration among the applicants trying to get their passports, it adds.

Many applicants presented evidence that they had to grease the palms of the agent mafia to get their passports, it says.

The passport officers were unable to provide satisfactory answers to any questions of the minister.

Mr Naqvi assured the people that he was there to address their complaints and would investigate the matter personally. He emphasized that it was his responsibility to provide convenience to them.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Maintaining balance
16 Feb, 2025

Maintaining balance

THERE are good reasons to be wary. With a new US administration under Donald Trump consolidating its grip on that...
Welcome return
16 Feb, 2025

Welcome return

IT is almost here; the moment Pakistan has long been waiting for — the first International Cricket Council...
Childhood trauma
16 Feb, 2025

Childhood trauma

BEING a child in this society should not be so hard. But recurrent reports of child abuse — from burying girl...
The Peca problem
Updated 15 Feb, 2025

The Peca problem

The fight for fundamental freedoms is not the media’s alone, but one that concerns every citizen.
Miners in danger
15 Feb, 2025

Miners in danger

YESTERDAY’S devastating terrorist attack in Harnai, which killed at least 11 coal miners and injured seven others,...
Solar panels scam
15 Feb, 2025

Solar panels scam

THE scam involving over-invoicing to the tune of more than Rs69bn in the import of solar panels raises many ...