Pakistan Unable to Print Passports Due to Dearth of Money to Buy Lamination Paper

Pakistani citizens are unable to get their new passports as the country in an economic crisis is facing a shortage of lamination paper, reported The Express Tribune.

It is suspected that due to a dearth of foreign reserves Pakistan is unable to procure the lamination paper from France. The lamination paper shortage has led to a nationwide scarcity of passports.

A similar situation occurred in 2013 when passport printing in Pakistan came to a halt due to DGI&P owing money to printers and a lack of lamination papers.

Several Pakistani students who enrolled in universities in places like the UK or Italy were unable to go there as they did not get their passports on time.

Qadir Yar Tiwana, the Director General for Media of the Ministry of Interior, said the Pakistani government is working to resolve the crisis.

Because of the lack of printing of passports due to the dearth of lamination paper, Pakistan’s regional passport offices are processing 12 to 13 passports daily. Earlier they were processing 3,000 to 4,000 passports per day.