KABUL (SW) – Officials from the General Directorate of Passports at the Ministry of Interior said that currently, 12,000 passports are issued daily across Afghanistan.
“This process has returned to normal in both the central and provincial offices. In Kabul, the registration site for the central office will reopen on Saturdays, and the sites for new centers will open on Tuesdays,” said Noorullah Patman, spokesperson for the directorate.
Currently, three new passport distribution centers in Kabul are issuing 2,000 passports daily to residents of the city.
The department has reported that 6,000 passports are distributed in Kabul each day, with an additional 6,000 distributed in the provinces.
According to Patman, there has been a decrease in the number of passport applicants in the provinces.
Despite this, some citizens have expressed frustration over the need for similar facilities in the provinces as those available in Kabul.
Dawood, a Kabul resident, shared his experience: “I registered online for a passport a year ago. My form was processed a month ago, and I am now at the passport directorate to receive it. We urge the government to establish new zones like those in Kabul in other provinces to ease the process and prevent people from having to travel to Kabul. Adding two or three zones per province would significantly improve accessibility.”
Another Kabul resident, Safi, also called for the creation of additional centers: “I registered eight months ago, and my form was processed a month ago. The directorate should increase the number of centers to accommodate the large number of people seeking passports.”
According to the General Directorate of Passports, more than 2 million passports were distributed to Afghan citizens last year.
