LAHORE — Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi ordered the immediate removal of two senior officials from Lahore’s Garden Town Passport Office after a surprise inspection revealed hours-long queues, vacant counters and widespread allegations of an agent mafia preying on desperate applicants.
During the unannounced visit, Naqvi found multiple service counters empty and staff absent while dozens of citizens waited in frustration. Many applicants surrounded the minister, detailing how they had been standing in line since early morning without being called forward even after four hours.
Citizens Report Bribes and Broken Promises
One applicant told Naqvi he had paid Rs5,500 to an agent outside the office to speed up his application. An elderly man said he had arrived expecting to collect his passport, only to be told by staff that the document had not yet been printed.
The minister responded by removing Passport Office In-charge and Deputy Director Shehzad Aslam, citing mismanagement and negligence. He also directed the removal of the Deputy Director of the Federal Investigation Agency’s Anti-Corruption unit in Lahore over the alleged presence of the agent network operating outside the facility.
Government Vows Zero Tolerance for Poor Service
Naqvi issued on-the-spot instructions to address the complaints and personally apologised to citizens for the difficulties they had endured. He described the situation as extremely regrettable and said such treatment of citizens was unacceptable.
- Multiple counters found vacant during surprise visit
- Applicants reported waiting more than four hours without service
- Allegations of agents charging bribes for faster processing
- Two senior officials removed over mismanagement and corruption concerns
The interior minister stressed there would be no compromise on fast service delivery at passport offices and warned that disciplinary action would be taken without discrimination over any negligence or failure to perform duties.
Providing facilities to citizens, Naqvi said, was both the government’s responsibility and its duty.
