A major breakthrough has been reported in the case of 32,674 passports stolen from 25 passport offices, including Abbottabad.
Director General (DG) Passports confirmed that all the stolen passports have been permanently blocked and will never be renewed.
Calling it “a very alarming issue,” he revealed that several people who traveled to Saudi Arabia on these documents were intercepted by the Saudi Interior Ministry, while Afghan nationals were deported.
He further stated that following the incident, NADRA and the passport system were fully digitized to prevent the creation of fake documents. “In the past, it was unthinkable not to catch those carrying fake passports,” he remarked.
PAC Convener Tariq Fazal Chaudhry expressed serious concern, warning that such passports could still be misused under present circumstances.
Officials added that NADRA and the Passport Department underwent a cyber-audit two years ago.
The PAC sub-committee has directed the DG Passports to submit a detailed inquiry report on the matter.