Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

Community members have asked to avoid gatherings as the Pakistani missions in the UAE have taken a number of steps to provide maximum relief, especially to those visiting the Consulate in Dubai and the Embasy in Abu Dhabi for their various consular services.

The Pakistan Consulate in Dubai and Northern Emirates has been extending expired passports against Dhs25 fee for one year as sources pointed out that it was not mandatory. “The decision was taken by the Government of Pakistan to relieve the community and avoid gatherings as every day hundreds of people visit the consulate to renew their passports and other official documents,” an official from the press section who pleaded anonymity shared with Gulf Today.

The staff in the consulate has been regularly coming and offering their duties to provide a wide range of consular services including passport renewal, renewal of conmputerised identity cards,  attestation of various documents and others.

The officials also mentioned that the computerised national identity cards (CNIC) of those Pakistanis expiring in the next 3 months have been made valid till June and the message has already been spread among the community.

The consulate has also made a number of steps to avoid visitors to congregate in the vicinity of the mission. “A number of consuls have been deputed to guide people for their required sections as soon as they enter the mission while a number of dispensers (hand sanitisers) are installed to stop the virus and maintain healthy and secure habits,” the official said.

Recently, the consulate established a “WhatsApp group” for the general public to get instant information and also receive messages from the mission in the wake of the current situation created after the coronavirus pandemic. “The group has over 5,000 members and getting an instant response to their queries while the official pages on Facebook and Twitter also being updated round the clock with necessary statements being issued by the Government of Pakistan for the overseas community,” he added.

The consulate has urged community members to follow the instructions to avoid public gatherings and also follow strictly the local rules and regulations.

In January, the Pakistan Consulate in Dubai for the benefit of the community, especially the working class, has announced to provide all consular services every second Saturday from February. This was announced by Ahmed Amjad Ali, Pakistan Consul General in Dubai and Northern Emirates while addressing a gathering of Pakistani journalists in his office.