Passport seekers in Dir irked by long wait

TIMERGARA, April, 16: While people seeking passport with normal fee do not get it even after wait of months, those who can afford to pay higher amounts get the document in quick time. This is what happens at the passport office in Timergara, where people complain that they had deposited the fee some three months back but are yet to get the passport. Talking to media persons in front of the office Ziaur Rahman, Daud Khan, Sher Mohammad, Ayaz Khan and Sadam said they had deposited normal fee some three months ago and had been frequently visiting the office with the hope to get the passport but in vain. They said the officials concerned were telling them that printer at the machine readable passport office at Islamabad had gone out of order. "We are told to come next week," they said. The applicants alleged that situation remained the same every year during Haj season. "Those who apply for urgent passports with higher fees get it easily but those with normal fees are facing hardships," they complained. They said visas and Haj applications of several persons last year were also expired due to fault in printer of the Islamabad office during Haj season. The passport seekers demanded of the federal interior minister and Overseas Pakistanis Foundation to take notice of the matter and direct the staff concerned to issue passport to them within the stipulated time. The director of passport office at Timergara Misbahud Din told reporters on the occasion that the office was sending requests regularly to Islamabad office. He said the printer in the Islamabad office had gone out of order since Feb 14 and that was why people were finding it difficult to get passports on time. He said due to fault in printer at Islamabad none of the applicants with normal fee had been provided with passport for the last two months. AIRLINE TICKETS: The Overseas Employees Promoters Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, president Mohammad Nawaz has said that international airline companies had created an artificial shortage of tickets for Gulf states. Talking to he said that tickets for Gulf states were being sold in black by the international airline companies. He said the air fares to Gulf states had soared to Rs28,000 from normal Rs22,000. He demanded of the government and concerned quarters to restore group system for flights from Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore to Gulf countries.