Sir: On August 13, 2015, I visited the passport office at Hayatabad in Peshawar. The previous day, I was told by a roadside forms seller that visa applicants need to be present at the office not later than 7:30 am to ensure timely processing of their cases. I along with my wife and son reached the passport office well in time. Gradually, other applicants too reached and gathered outside the closed main gate of the passport office. I thought how disgracefully citizens were treated; there are no benches or cemented seats for sitting. Applicants are treated like sheep gathered by a shepherd. The officials of the office took their relatives and acquaintances inside and their cases were processed on a priority basis despite the fact that they had reached there much later than other applicants. The concerned authorities of the Interior Ministry are requested to take necessary action in this connection. They should immediately arrange seating facilities for the applicants, who reach early and stand for hours. Irregularities with the connivance of the officials should be strictly stopped, and the merit-based processing of applications for passports ensured. Passport offices at some other districts like Nowshera and Charsadda should be permitted to work so that workload on other passport offices is lessened. Hopefully, the concerned authorities will pay immediate attention to resolve these problems.
MOHAMMAD FAYYAZ
Charsadda