Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus today (February 16) instructed all the district administrators of the country to inform people that the police verification requirement for getting passports has been scrapped.
Necessary legal framework has already been approved in this regard, but unfortunately the message has not reached people, continuing the sufferings from the irrational provision in many parts of the country, Prof Yunus said after inaugurating the district administrators’ council at Osmani Smrity Auditorium in the capital.
Despite remedial measures, people are suffering unnecessarily as it has almost become the norm for government entities to harass people, the Nobel Laureate observed. But the trend has to be reversed, instead of harassing, the government must serve people, he said.
Getting passports is people’s right like any other constitutional right. Police verification is not required for getting birth certificates or national identification (NID) cards, and therefore, must also not be required when getting passports. Police must follow the usual process for identifying criminals if it wants to screen a person’s criminal records, he said.
Bd-Pratidin English/ARK
