Taliban resumes issuing national IDs and passports in Afghanistan: Report

A day after the council of ministers held a meeting, the Taliban-led government has resumed the issuance of national identity cards and passports from Tuesday, TOLO News reported. According to the news report, the interior ministry said that for the time being, the new passports will be issued with the title of 'the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.' During a press conference on Tuesday, the head of the media department of the interior ministry, Saeed Khosti confirmed the recent decision and said the new passports would include the previous title - the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Notably, the ID and passport services were discontinued soon after the extremist group seized the national capital, Kabul.

The development would come as a relief for lakhs of Afghan nationals willing to either flee from the country or need to travel to other countries. Meanwhile, the report also said that the head of the media department confirmed that the Ministry gave a green signal to the female employees working in the passport department. It said that the Ministry asked the female workers to return to their jobs. The report said that the female employee would help the women seeking passports and would not entertain any male requests. According to the passport department head, Alim Gul Haqqani, who was also present during the press conference, at least 25,000 passports are ready to be issued in the first place.

Department has enough passport booklets to meet the demands of Afghans: Minister

Quoting Haqqani, TOLO News said their services have also resumed in provinces. The department head also informed that at least 1,70,000 people have filed applications for getting passports in the last two months. He said that the department has enough passport booklets to meet the demands of Afghans rushing for the passports. "There will be no need for printing new passports for the next eight months," said Haqqani. 

It is worth mentioning that a series of incidents unfolded after the Taliban captured the national capital, Kabul, on 15 August, including a bomb attack. Since the Taliban's conquest, lakhs of desperate Afghan nationals have fled the war-torn country and taken asylum in different countries. Lakhs of people are still waiting for their turn to reach other countries.

Despite facing a barrage of criticism and pressure from international communities, the terror organisation stood staunchly against the requests and warnings. Last week, the United States Senate Bill proposed to impose sanctions on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and its supporters. Despite a strong warning from America and other European countries, the Afghan Interior Ministry said any penalties on the war-torn country would repeat the failed policies of the United States in Afghanistan. 

With inputs from ANI

Image: ANI