Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has expressed optimism that with Saudi Arabia’s support, individuals involved in passport forgery and document tampering can now be apprehended within Pakistan.
During his visit to the Saudi Directorate of Passport in Riyadh, Naqvi met with the Acting Director General, Major General Dr. Saleh Al-Marabba, to discuss mutual efforts to enhance passport systems. The discussions focused on streamlining the passport issuance process and implementing advanced measures to combat forgery.
Minister Naqvi visited various departments, including the modern call center, and reviewed the advanced technologies employed in the Saudi passport system.
The minister inspected the state-of-the-art technology employed by the Saudi Directorate and commended its modernized systems.
He highlighted the potential of adopting similar advancements in Pakistan to make its passport system more secure and efficient.
He praised the system’s efficiency and commended the efforts to integrate state-of-the-art technology in passport processing and fraud prevention.
The two officials discussed measures to streamline the process of passport issuance and strengthen efforts to prevent forgery.
A comprehensive discussion was also held on the implementation of e-gates to enhance efficiency and security.
Minister Naqvi highlighted the potential benefits of Saudi expertise in improving Pakistan’s passport system. “The assistance of the Saudi Directorate of Passports can play a pivotal role in making our system more user-friendly and foolproof,” he remarked.
The minister announced plans to establish a call center in Pakistan modelled after the Saudi system to provide better services to citizens.
He also emphasized the importance of cooperation in detecting and preventing document forgery.
“With Saudi Arabia’s support, we can catch offenders involved in passport forgery and document tampering within Pakistan itself,” Naqvi said.
The visit also addressed recent incidents where 3,700 Pakistanis were apprehended at Saudi airports for travelling on tampered passports or fake documents, underscoring the need for stronger preventive measures.