Thousands of people rushed into the passport department in western Herat province, as passports have recently become a challenge for citizens—with many of them seeking to leave the country as unemployment is on the rise amid severe humanitarian crises.

Meanwhile, the passport department in Herat said that they have increased the daily passport distribution from 250 to 1,500, which is said to be the reason for the large crowds among passport applicants.

“Previously, between 250 to 300 passports were being collected in Herat. As a technical team from Kabul has arrived from now on, we are trying to issue up to 1,500,” said Hassibullah Haseeb, head of the passport department in Herat.

Some passport applicants said that the crowds caused the passport distribution to slow down.

According to the department, 500 passport applications will be registered online, and 500 passports will be registered on campus.

“There are a lot of people. The government said that 1,000 applicants should come and will distribute passports,” said Abdul Aziz, a passport applicant.

“We call on the passport department to distribute the passports as they promised and, if possible, increase its employees,” said Nazeer Ahmad, a passport applicant.

This comes as the citizens across the country have repeatedly expressed concerns over the slow process of passport distribution.