Pakistan Consul General pushes for new consulate building in Dubai

Dubai: With an ever-growing Pakistani population in the UAE and mounting pressure on existing consular facilities, Consul General of Pakistan in Dubai, Hussain Mohammed, has renewed calls for the construction of a new consulate building, calling it a long-overdue necessity.

“This consulate is the face of Pakistan. We are doing everything we can to serve the community, but the current facility is no longer adequate,” said Mohammed in an exclusive interview with Gulf News.

“I have been working on the new building proposal since the day I arrived here nearly two years ago,” he added.

He confirmed that the matter has been formally raised with top authorities in Islamabad, with strong support from Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE. However, official approval is still pending.

The call for a new consulate building comes as the mission deals with record-high foot traffic, with approximately 2,000 people visiting daily, including 800 to 1,000 passport applicants and several hundred more for ID card renewals, attestation, and document collection.

Number of Pakistanis living in the UAE have increased to more than 1.8 million as per the consulate estimates. The current consulate building in Dubai is too small to cater to such a big population.

“The crowd is growing, and we are doing our best within limited space. We have even had to keep some sections open on public holidays to manage the rush,” he explained.

To improve conditions in the meantime, the consulate is expanding its existing seating and waiting areas and enhancing visitor comfort and service delivery.

“But these are stop-gap measures. We need a purpose-built, modern facility that reflects the importance of our mission and the size of our community,” he added.

Many community members have called for satellite consular offices in other emirates so that they do not have to travel from Northern Emirates to Dubai to get consular services. However, Consul General Mohammed clarified that current security and data protocols make this impractical.

“Due to the sensitive nature of biometric data, everything must be processed centrally. That’s another reason why we need a larger, better-equipped main facility,” he said.

The consulate has made significant strides in digitising services. A revamped appointment system for ID card renewals and an improved passport processing workflow have cut waiting times dramatically.

Urgent passports are now delivered in 8 to 10 days, and regular applications take only three weeks, compared to over a month previously.

“We encourage everyone to apply online and use our courier delivery service to reduce visits to the consulate. Still, the volume of people we serve daily is enormous,” the Consul General emphasised.

The idea of a new consulate building in Dubai has been raised multiple times over the past decade. In 2015, then-Consul General Javed Jalil Khattak initiated plans for a purpose-built facility, citing similar concerns over rising demand and cramped infrastructure. However, the project stalled and the file was eventually closed.

Subsequent diplomats also attempted to revive the proposal but made limited progress due to bureaucratic delays and shifting priorities in Islamabad. Now, with renewed diplomatic engagement and growing community pressure, hopes have resurfaced for long-overdue approval and funding.

Community leaders and Pakistani expatriates in the UAE have long expressed frustration over the lack of progress, emphasising that the consulate not only serves administrative needs but also represents Pakistan’s presence and reputation abroad.