Dubai: An Open Forum will be held at the Pakistani consulate in Dubai every Wednesday from 2pm to 3pm, where top officials will directly handle grievances and inquiries from walk-in Pakistani expats.
The first Open Forum was held on Wednesday, December 7, and attended by roughly 20 people, a few of whom presented their issues to the officials, who included Samar Javed, the acting Pakistani consul general in Dubai, and heads of various consulate sections.
The initiative, according to the consulate, will help Pakistanis grappling with passport, ID card, legal and other issues, besides doing away with an appointment system or long lines. Some 1,500 Pakistanis visit the consulate daily, leading to long waits as the consulate — built in the early 1980s — is not designed to handle such a large number of people.
Javed said: “We will be here at the Open House to listen first-hand to the problems and try to solve them within government rules. This initiative is an important step in accessibility to us for our visitors.”
He and his team listened to various concerns raised by the visitors, as well as the press, during the first Open Forum.
Passport fees
Javed said one of the complaints received at the Open House was against the Pakistani Social Centre in Sharjah for charging high service charges for online passport and ID card renewal applications. He said that the centre has been notified in writing to “review its fee structure” for handling passport applications, which are charged an extra Dh100 by the centre. “The Pakistani ambassador [to the UAE] has also said it should be with the Dh30 to Dh35 range … As far as the consulate itself is concerned, we are charging our same subsided fees and will continue to do so in the future.”
He also pointed out the fees are set by the Pakistani government, adding that an online option for passport matters was recently made available as well.
New building
Regarding the construction of a new three-storey (G+2) building — to be established within the consulate premises — Javed said he is “constantly in touch with the foreign office in Islamabad for them to send their team and have a meeting with us. The team has to come and there will be a selection of companies [to construct the new building] and some further processes. As you know, it takes a little time”.
The building will significantly expand the capacity of the consulate, freeing up lines and easing pressure on staff. However, no completion date has yet been announced for the project, whose construction will reportedly start in 2017.
The Pakistani consulate is one of the busiest in the UAE, home to some 1.4 million Pakistanis, according to data from the Pakistani missions. Pakistanis make up one of the biggest expat communities in the UAE.
Jailed Pakistanis
Javed said there was a “marked improvement” in jail visits by consular staff to provide consular assistance and access to Pakistani inmates, especially by women staff for female prisoners, who constitute around 25 per cent of the total.
There are roughly 1,400 Pakistanis in UAE jails but the figure changes constantly as people are released, pardoned or imprisoned.
He added that around 80 Pakistanis will imminently be repatriated. Assistance by the consulate is extended to those booked for minor violations or those who have served their sentences but are awaiting an air ticket to Pakistan.
“Our biggest problem is drugs and murder cases but you can understand that the consulate is not in a position to address such cases,” Javed said.
