Overview
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs began operating an evening shift at its Islamabad headquarters on Monday, July 27, extending consular availability to 8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced the move on X and framed it as part of a government drive to make public services more citizen-friendly and efficient.
- A public notice from the Consular Affairs Division sets token issuance for a morning window and an evening window, with morning tokens issued from 8:00 a.m. and evening tokens issued between 3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on weekdays.
- The extended hours cover passport help, document attestation, verification and other routine consular work, a change aimed at easing access for overseas Pakistanis, working professionals and applicants who previously could not visit during standard hours.
- Officials and commentators say the shift could cut peak-hour crowding at the Foreign Office and may prompt similar hour extensions at diplomatic missions, but the ministry has framed this as an immediate administrative reform rather than a time-limited pilot.