Islamabad:
The Ministry of Interior has issued a list of guidelines aimed at containing
the spread of coronavirus for the National
Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and passport offices across the
country, a news source reported.
It has further requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to communicate these instructions to the foreign missions established in Islamabad, as well as Pakistani embassies in countries around the world.
As per the guidelines, the
authorities concerned have been asked to pursue manual observations for all expired
Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) for an extended time frame of one year. To
this effect, passport holders will be required to fill-out their application on
plain papers in addition to providing passport and CNIC copies against fee
submission amounting to PKR 1,000.
The manual endorsement of a newborn can be added to the MRP of either parent after the realisation of the endorsement fee (which is prescribed to be equivalent of PKR 800) and observation of other formalities.
The endorsement register, including checking against Integrated Border Management System (IBMS), for the renewal of these passports will be maintained.
Moreover, foreign missions will
be requested to provide manual extensions on existing passports to those
holders who are unable to receive their travel documents owing to the
suspension of international flight operations.
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