Officials for the Afghanistan General Directorate of Passports say that over 8,000 passports are issued to Afghan citizens on daily basis. In an exclusive interview with The Kabul Times correspondent, Norullah Patman, a spokesperson for the country’s directorate of passports, said that from 8,000 – 10,000 passports were issued to Afghan citizens on daily basis. “From 8,000 to 10,000 passports are issued to Afghan citizens in Kabul and other provincial passport departments on daily basis,” Patman said, adding that hundreds of thousands of people have applied to get the passport. According to the spokesperson of the country’s general directorate of passports, there are sufficient passports and the department can order more if they feel to need them. Patman further said that the leadership and staff of the passport department were trying to provide all the best facilities to their citizens so that they could get passports easily, adding that they are working to make the dis-tribution process even easier.
Pointing to collecting increased revenue in the past one year, the passport department’s spokesperson said that the passport department has collected nearly 3.7 billion AFG revenue during the past one year, adding that over 500,000 passports have been issued to Afghan citizens in the past one year. He said that more than 200 corrupt figures involved in corruption and issuing fake passports have been arrested and submitted to judicial organs.
Pointing to recent development in the passport department, Patman said that a range of developments have been made within the passport as development in the online form of the passport in the center and the provinces, development in supplying and equipping a series of necessary technical systems and others so that the department was delivering its services in a better way, adding that the (RMIS) system has been also created for Electronic Banking Fees. According to the passport department’s spokesperson, other developments as the creation of more than 10 bank accounts for the bank tariffs to prevent fake bank charges, the completion of some technical works, holding several meetings with border authorities to link the biometrical system to identify fake passports and signing a new MoU with the Afghan Post to provide better services and others have been made within the passport department. He said that the passport department was working to provide all necessary facilities to Afghan citizens so that they can easily get passports in all passport-issuing centers. Samiullah Momand
