*KARACHI: Federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Sundayvisited the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi and inspected theimmigration counters. *

During the visit, the minister directed the immigration staff at JinnahInternational Airport, Karachi to increase the immigration counters at theterminal to ease the load of passengers travelling overseas.

The immigration officials briefed the minister about the procedure.

The interior minister directed the additional director of FIA – Sindh tocomplete new counters within the next two months. He said that OverseasPakistanis are our asset and their role in Pakistan’s economic developmentis the most prominent.

The government is taking concrete steps to promote tourism and trade underthe prime minister’s vision and online visas will boost the tourism sector.It will also benefit the country’s economy, he added.

Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced that more NADRA andpassport offices will be opened in Karachi, adding that the e-passportsystem will be launched by June this year.

It must be noted that a microchip with all biometric information of anindividual would be embedded in each e-passport to help authenticate theidentity of the traveller.

Now, 2 pictures of the passport holder will be displayed on the main pageof the new e-passport. The launch of the e-passport service will also helpthe airport authorities to complete the travel procedure within theshortest span of time.