The Home Minister says the move will speed up services at all passport offices and ensure transparency.
Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced on Wednesday that the country had transitioned to cashless transactions at all passport offices.
On June 19, the government decided to digitize the passport issuance system as part of extensive reforms aimed at modernizing immigration services and eliminating fraud. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced that the cashless payment system introduced at passport offices and online portal will be moved to the Pak-ID platform.
In a post on
Naqvi highlighted that the move would speed up services at all passport offices and ensure transparency and convenience for citizens.
He also congratulated the entire team on the digital financial shift and said there were “many more milestones” ahead.
Read: Pakistan to issue only e-passports
A week earlier, Director General of Immigration and Passports Muhammad Ali Randhawa had said that the country would gradually move to issuing only electronic passports (e-passports), while cash payments for passport fees would be abolished from July 1 (today) in favor of a digital payment system based on QR codes.
The decision was taken on June 23 during a high-level meeting chaired by the CEO at the Islamabad headquarters.
The meeting members were further informed that the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports would soon launch a mobile application dedicated to passports, which will allow Pakistani citizens, both at home and abroad, to apply for passports online from their homes.
Applicants would also be able to receive their passports at their doorstep, with TCS and DHL providing delivery services.
Officials said the initiative would significantly reduce congestion at passport offices.
