ISLAMABAD: The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGI&P) has announced restoration of passport issuance operations at all Pakistani missions worldwide, four days after a system-wide technical fault halted services and left thousands of expatriates stranded, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Director General of Passport and Immigration Muhammad Ali Randhawa said the technical fault at the Passport Headquarters in Islamabad had been resolved, allowing foreign missions to resume processing of new applications and renewals.
“The issue has been fixed and passport operations are now functional globally,” Randhawa said in a statement.
The restoration comes after services were suspended worldwide since April 29, when a technical glitch at DGI&P headquarters disabled the central system used by embassies and consulates for e-passports and machine-readable passports. The outage impacted missions across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Europe, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Turkey and the United States.
Earlier, it may be recalled, Pakistani missions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai had advised nationals to avoid visiting consular offices for passport-related matters during the outage. An estimated 800 to 1,000 applicants typically visit the missions daily for renewals and new applications, according to consulate officials.
The Embassy of Pakistan in Qatar announced on May 3 that processing was suspended “until further notice” due to the Islamabad fault, while similar notices were issued by embassies in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UAE. Applicants were told services would remain halted and that resumption would be announced via official social media platforms.
The suspension caused difficulties for expatriates facing travel, visa and residency requirements, with many urging the government to resolve the issue urgently.
DGI&P officials maintained the disruption was “technical, not political or security-related” and originated from the head office system. A high-level meeting chaired by DG Randhawa with IT experts on April 30 had reviewed the system, though services remained down for several more days.
However, unconfirmed reports circulating online suggested the suspension was linked to delayed salary payments for overseas staff of the Passport and Immigration Directorate, claims the authorities did not formally address.
Background: Strain on centralised system
The incident underscores the dependence of Pakistan’s diplomatic missions on a centralised digital infrastructure at the Islamabad headquarters. Any disruption at the main office halts operations worldwide, as missions abroad cannot process passports independently.
Officials had earlier assured that teams were working to restore the system but gave no firm timeline for recovery. As of Monday, missions were expected to begin clearing backlogs accumulated over the past week, though applicants have been advised to check official embassy channels for appointments.
The passport system had also faced delays last week in Europe, the Middle East and Turkey, with notices displayed at missions in the US and across the Gulf confirming the temporary unavailability of services.
