KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): A number of people of southeastern Khost province say they will lose their work visas in Arab countries if they do not get their passports on time.
The Passport Department in Khost began its work two weeks ago, but the passport distributing process was stopped after a week of the department’s opening.
Officers say the department’s operations have been temporarily halted due to some administrative and technical problems, but Khost residents, particularly those working in Arab countries, ask for immediate resumption of the service.
Safar Khan, a resident of Khost with a work visa in the United Arab Emirates, told Pajhwok Afghan News that he had biometrically registered about 10 days ago to extend his passport, but the service was now stopped.
He said he had only a few days left in his UAE visa and he would lose his job if failed to extend his passport.
“I submitted my passport on November 6. I am registered in the biometric section. My visa expires on December 3. I want an emergency passport so I can travel,” he said.
Another resident of Khost, Nawab Khan, also complained about the problem and said that his passport and visa would expire in the next few days.
“We are traveling to Dubai. Our visa expires in few days. My passport is already expired.They have announced that visa holders can extend their passports until December. We want the passport service resumed as soon as possible,” he said.
On the other hand, Khost Passport Department Director Mualvi Mohammad NawrozZahid told Pajhwok that they processed passport documents of 5,000 people in a week.
He said that their services were suspended for a few days following an order from the central department.
“We have performed the work of three months in a week due to people’s needs. We received a letter from the central Passport Department and directed us to create a joint commission. So that is the reason our services are suspended for a few days…,” he said.
Khost Police Chief MulaviMahboob Shah said that one of the reasons to suspend passport service was lack of space and they are working to find a proper place which would have separate areas for men and women applicants.
He said that he had shared the problem with the Khost governor’s office and it would be resolved in the coming days.
A few days ago, MulaviAlamGulHaqqani, general director of Passport Department, said that the distribution of passports would resume in Kabul and other provinces this week.
Mds/ma
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