KABUL (SW) – The Taliban on Tuesday began issuing passports of the ‘Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’ a day after the Islamic Emirate’s cabinet approved the move.
Alam Gul Haqqani, head of the passport department of the Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Emirate, told a news conference today that the process of distributing passports to applicants has resumed.
Haqqani added that the Passport Department has resumed its activities and, according to him, all male and female employees of the department have been asked to return to work. Passports will first be distributed to about 25,000 people who have already paid their bank fees, he said. He said up to 170,000 copies of passports have already been registered in the passport department’s database, which must be distributed.
Meanwhile, Saeed Khosti, head of the media department and spokesman for the Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Emirate, said at the meeting that the process of distributing passports would begin at the beginning of next week.
The officials said that the online passport registration process will be suspended for another month and a half due to the 170,000 pending applicants. Saeed Khosti, however, said that the process of distributing passports to people who need them urgently will be facilitated.
According to Khosti, these people include patients, government employees, businessmen, people holding invitations or residences, the wounded of the Islamic Emirate forces, and civilians and students introduced to foreign scholarships. Passport staff and their family members, as well as athletes competing abroad, can also apply immediately for a passport, he said.
On the other hand, Saeed Khosti said that passports are going to be distributed under the title “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan”. He emphasized that there are about one million printed passports in the Passport Department and that 6,000 passports will be distributed every day.
Khosti also said that consultations are underway on the distribution of passports entitled “Islamic Emirate” and that a clear decision has not yet been made by the leadership of the Islamic Emirate. According to him, special sections have been set up for women for the passport process.
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