Karachi (November 9, 2024) – Senator Waqar Mehdi, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Sindh and General Secretary of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sindh, has strongly condemned the federal government’s steep hike in passport fees, calling it a severe injustice to the public and urging its immediate rollback.
In his statement, Senator Mehdi criticized the fee increase, noting that passport costs have surged by up to PKR 27,000, with distinct hikes for e-passports, Machine-Readable Passports (MRP), and replacement of lost passports. Additionally, he highlighted the introduction of a penalty reaching up to PKR 300,000 for lost passports. Mehdi warned that this surge in fees will only heighten financial burdens on the public and enable agent mafias to exploit citizens further.
Waqar Mehdi remarked that this increase seems to be more of a revenue-generating scheme targeting citizens rather than a necessary policy shift. He urged the government to prioritize providing relief and accessible services to the public rather than imposing additional hardships. Senator Mehdi called on the federal government to take into account the country’s mounting inflation, unemployment, and poverty rates and to reverse these fee hikes without delay.
