SIALKOT - The people of Sialkot have protested against lack of facilities at Regional Passport Office, saying to get passports without spending money by greasing the palm of the agents in and around the passport office is hard nut to crack. On the other side, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced establishment of a passport office at Narowal during his recent visit to the district. He directed the Pakistan Passport and Immigration Department director general to ensure the early establishment of a passport office at Narowal. The office is also facing a shortage of staff due to which the provision of the passports was being delayed. The passport office consisted of a few rented shops in congested Hajipura locality. A rush of the passport seekers could be witness in front of the office which caters the about seven million population of both neighbouring districts. Expressing grave concern over this critical situation, Citizens Rights Protection Forum Chairman Dr Muhammad Muneer Butt said that the passport office was besieged by the agents who are allegedly had strong links with officials concerned. He said that the human rights were also being violated. He said that the agents had fixed a rate of Rs 500 per applicant for easing the way to get the token for entering in the passport office. He alleged that the applicants, having no token (to be got after paying Rs. 500 to the agents) have to spend even the whole day in the long queues in front of the regional passport office. He said that despite the repeated appeals made by the Sialkots social, political, business and religious circles, the office had not yet been shifted to any other suitable place for facilitating the people. Dr Muneer observed that Narowal was given the status of a district in 1990 but no regional passport office has so far been established in the district. He revealed that the people of Narowal district also get issued their passports from regional passport office Sialkot and this practice overburdened the Sialkot regional passport office. He urged the government to establish a regional passport office at Narowal, enabling the local people to get their passport from Narowal office instead of getting passport from Sialkot passport office. When contacted, the concerned officials of Sialkot regional passport office denied all the allegations regarding corruption at this office. They said that they had sent a plan to shift Sialkot passport office to any other suitable place to the federal govt for approval, but we had been waiting for any go ahead from the federal government in this regard.