Changes soon in passport issuance procedure, says new Pakistan CG

Aftab Ahmed Khokhar, the new consul general for Pakistan in Jeddah, said that his first order of business is to learn about the problems of the local Pakistani community and then to try to find out why they have not yet been solved.
“To start down that path, I will try to be in my office before 8:30 every morning and conduct the business of the consular office,” Khokhar said in an exclusive interview with Arab News.
He also said that he had ordered consular officers to be in the office on time, an order which, it appears, has been taken seriously.
The consul general is planning changes in passport issuance by acquiring more equipment designed for machine-readable passports. This will greatly facilitate the community and the consular staff.
At present, 500 to 600 machine-readable passports are issued daily and a number of traditional passports are issued as well. With the Kingdom requiring all passports to be machine-readable by 2015, Khokhar is determined to make sure Pakistan meets that deadline.
“Even the problem of delayed issuance of passports has been solved by the Pakistani government as the system is working better in Pakistan now. Emergency as well as ordinary passports will be delivered on time,” he said.
To facilitate access for the community, Khokhar said he is looking into creating more space in the consulate for visitors. More importantly, he is still considering the possibility of delivering passports to Pakistanis via Saudi Post or one of the courier companies. This will eliminate the need for a return trip to the consulate to pick up passports.
“We will also try to introduce an SMS system so if people don’t want their passports delivered to their homes or offices, we will inform them as and when the passport is ready. This is still under consideration as I have to look at the modality of these functions. We need some time to solve the problems instead of rushing into quick fix,” he said.
Khokhar, a career diplomat, has wide-ranging experience working on a number of diplomatic assignments. He holds a M.Sc. in Politics of World Economy from the London School of Economics, and an MBA and MA in Economics from Punjab University, Lahore.
Another of Khokhar’s goals is to strengthen the already strong economic ties between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as there is potential, he believes, for even greater economic cooperation between the two countries.
“We have to work on the trade imbalance so we have to improve economic ties. There is a lot of potential in the Saudi economy for Pakistani products. In its last budget, the Saudi government showed there was a very clear indication toward growth in many fields such as health, construction and education,” he said.
He also said that there is opportunity for Pakistan to trade in all economic sectors. The medical sector, in particular, offers tremendous opportunities that range from pharmaceuticals to sending doctors and nurses to the Kingdom. Teachers also can play an important role in training and even in the construction sector.
He said that he is planning to meet with Saudi businessmen and request investment in training institutes in Pakistan. “Pakistani-trained manpower can be utilized in the Saudi market. At the same time, we will give a small course of Arabic and parameters of Arabic culture to our laborers,” he said. “I have already met a few people here, in particular, Pakistani industrialists, and discussed how to improve economic relationships.”
He is also planning to meet with the authorities at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Saudi investors in an effort to improve relations.
Regarding Pakistanis who are in Saudi jails, he said he is trying to persuade the Saudi government to move them to jails closer to the consulate so as to allow consular visits and other amenities the proximity could afford.
“Whatever mandate or bilateral relations are given, we will do our job. My initiatives will be to promote Pakistan-Saudi relations, especially through trade as trade is an important element of political relationships,” he said.
Khokhar stressed that he wanted to get out the word to the Pakistani community that they can come directly to him if they have a problem, exhorting them not to engage any kind of intermediary for a price. Monday is fixed to meet people from the community at the consulate, but some has a pressing problem, he will go to meet them outside the consulate.
In the end, he admits, in some areas there is only so much that he can do. Although the Supreme Court issued a decision allowing overseas Pakistanis to participate in the upcoming national elections, Khokhar said it would be premature to comment. “This is the job of election commission. It depends on what decision they take. If we get any instructions, we will work on them and provide all necessary facilities,” he explained.