Kabul, Afghanistan — Taliban said it has issued over two million passports to the people in the past year.
Abdul Karim Hasib, Taliban’s head of the General Directorate of Passports, at a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday said that the office currently processes around 20,000 passport applications daily.
However, many people have criticized the slow processing times, stating that they have waited months or even years for their applications to be addressed.
This comes amid an unprecedented increase in emigration from Afghanistan. In the first few months after the fall of the previous government in August 2021, more than 600,000 fled to Pakistan alone. Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment, along with widespread unemployment, have forced many citizens to leave the country.
Afghans cite the harsh conditions and restrictions imposed by the Taliban as their primary reasons for emigrating.
They emphasize the ban on education for girls and the lack of job opportunities as major challenges.
Despite Hasib’s claim that “commission-based facilitation” for passport acquisition has been completely eradicated, citizens report otherwise.
He announced plans to open three new passport distribution centers in Kabul, each with a capacity to issue 2,000 passports per day.
Nevertheless, some citizens argue that the slow processing and long wait times have fostered a black market for passports.
Currently, a single passport can sell for up to $2,000 on the black market, according to sources familiar with the matter.
People attribute the existence of this black market to alleged corruption within the Taliban-run General Directorate of Passports and collusion between its employees and commission agents.
