Despite being born and raised in Pakistan, I must confess I know almost nothing about how this country operates. I am surprised, every day, especially if I happen to come in contact with any government agency. For example, a friend of mine left for England yesterday. I drover her to the Islamabad airport and told her that I would wait outside if she needed anything. Otherwise, once she got her boarding pass, I would leave. After entering the airport, my friend called me and told me that the airport staff was asking for a photo copy of her passport, but gave no reason for this bizarre and unusual demand. To confirm that I understood her correctly, I asked her to clarify whether this copy was needed by the airline or by someone else, and she informed that it was one of those strange men responsible for issuing security clearance to passengers and the airline had nothing to do with it.
I have been thinking about this since yesterday, but during my travel, not only in Pakistan, but also from England, North America or the Middle East, I have never encountered this before. I have even called a couple of folks in government to understand this demand, but no one seems to know anything about it. In fact, people have told me that they have heard that people at Islamabad airport do ask for a copy, but there is no rule or policy about it. If there is a policy about it, there should be signs about it or people should be informed about it when they entering the country so that the passengers are prepared when they come to the airport to leave Pakistan. Anyway, when my friend told the airport staff that she did not have a copy, she was directed to a photo copy machine at the next counter where she paid triple the amount of money that she would have paid in the market, got a copy, handed it over to the airport staff and left. (By the way, I have never seen a photo copy machine at any airport before!)
I don’t object to depositing a copy of my passport with the authorities if there is a logical reason for it. But the authorities have the passport numbers of everyone entering and leaving the country. The government also has finger prints and tons of footage from multiple close circuit cameras installed at the airport. Even if after all this, the government still needs a copy of the passport of every traveler, fine, just make sure to inform the visitors when they arrive instead of harassing them when they are trying to leave Pakistan. And most importantly, this policy should be applied to everyone. So far, I have not heard any international traveler mention it except for my friend who left yesterday.
If the government of Pakistan is serious about attracting tourism and investment dollars, the county will have to do a lot more to give the visiting guests this confidence and assurance that they are treated nicely. Moreover, if the visiting friends experience any inconveniences, there should be a way for these travelers to approach authorities to get assistance. We see none of this help anywhere in Pakistan, especially for foreigners, and it will only hurt Pakistan’s interest. I know that it is difficult to train the staff at the airport or other government offices to behave differently, but there must be a way to make it difficult for these bad apples to further harm Pakistan’s name and reputation.
