QUETTA (ENN) Directorate General of Immigration and Passports had announced an amnesty scheme in 2019 for those government employees, who had obtained their passports in a private capacity, without revealing their government job. Although the amnesty scheme was extended for several months as thousands of passport holders took advantage of the amnesty scheme to renew their passports and show their government jobs.
However, in the following year, the federal government through a notification imposed a fine of five thousand rupees in addition to the passport fee, for those who wanted to change their profession as government servant in their passports. This notification still remained in force in other parts of the country, but due to a single case in Balochistan, the government has stopped issuance of passports to the government servants in profession change.
Now neither the employees are being issued government servant passports nor they are being allowed to get passports in a private capacity. Due to the non-issuance of passports, thousands of government servants and professionals who intend to go abroad for their PhD or other degrees or availing the opportunity of scholarships or fellowships. The passport seekers are now running from pillar to post and suffering from severe mental agony. A large number of Umrah and Hajj pilgrims are also among the affectees.
The professionals have appealed to the Chief Justice Supreme Court, Chief Justice Balochistan High Court, DG Immigration and Passports, Deputy Director Balochistan Zone and other concerned authorities, keeping in mind the difficulties of the affected educated and professional segment of the province to take notice of the issue on war footing. Until the case is resolved, the government employees should be allowed to obtain passports in a private capacity for a specified period. So that the passport seeker government servants could obtain their passports with profession changes and get rid of this mental agony and misery.
