S A H I W A L : Approximately 4,000 to 5,000 ordinary passports have been pending at the regional passport office since April 30 due to halted printing in Islamabad.

Applicants who paid Rs4,500 for ordinary passports, typically issued within 15-20 days, have faced a seven-month delay.

Muhammad Jamil of 85/6-R shared his frustration. He said he applied in May but has yet to receive any updates.

Local agents say that daily inquiries at the regional passport office are met with the same response the passports remain unprinted.Reports also allege that some applicants are being charged Rs16,000 through agents for fast track passports, though the official fee is Rs12,500.

Regional Passport Office Director Murad Zaidi denied these claims and urged applicants to deal directly with the office. He said delays in fast track services were due to the local GPO`s refusal to provide courier support.

Mr Zaidi said new printingmachineshavearrived, enabling the daily processing of 600-700 passports.

He said he hoped that the backlog would be cleared within two months. Correspondent