Getting your University Degree / Transcript attested from HEC Pakistan

Hi guys

We've heard horror stories of issues faced by students (mostly those who undertook O & A level exams in air-conditioned halls and are averse to manual drudgery) and whenever they need to get their degrees / documents attested from HEC. As far as the degree attestation is concerned, the issue has been resolved to a large extent. Earlier, attestation of O / A Level certificates and IBCC equivalence certificate was required but now that requirement has been waived.

 I will detail the process done through TCS. You need to choose this method on HEC's online portal. There's a self process as well which is detailed here. Here's what you need:

• Online form filled at HEC portal (printed after submission)
• Copy of CNIC
• Original documents for attestation, photocopies to be attested and one set of copies (for HEC record)
• Photocopy of O and A level certificates (simple copies, no attestation required)
• Cash payment to be made at TCS - incase you want to carry this in person, deposit at HEC counter (Rs. 800 for each original document, Rs. 500 for each photocopy)
• Time in advance (it can take a week)

To go TCS Main Office in Gulberg, Lahore. Deposit the document and the cash. They will provide you with a receipt. This needs to be uploaded on HEC's portal. 

In a week's time, you will receive an SMS confirming that you degree / docs are available for collection from TCS's main office.

Getting protector clearance in Pakistan

Anybody willing to work outside Pakistan (specially the UAE), will need the Protector guarantee / clearance from the Pakistani government otherwise he / she cannot board a flight on employment visa. How to get it?

My friend Ahmed Muneeb did explain the process is a simple worded blogpost. However, the process has changed somewhat in the subsequent years.

If you are in Lahore, here's how to get the clearance:

• Documents required
• You need to create 3 sets of photocopies of the following: 
• Work visa
• Your CNIC
• Your NICOP - if you dont have it, get it made from NADRA. NADRA will convert your existing CNIC into NICOP.
• Token number for NICOP can be used for getting protectorate clearance
• You CNIC will be deposited during NICOP process - make sure you make photo copies in advance
• Passport - You will need your original passport at the office
• CNIC copy of your nominated next of kin - any blood relation - this can be your father's, mother's, brother's, etc.
• 1 passport sized photo
• 1 pen
• Employment contract (not required but just in case)
• PKR 6500 + change
• Go to the Protectorate of immigrant office preferably at 9 AM (They have 7 offices in Pakistan.In Lahore - Model Town 117 G)
• Enter and give your passport along with 1 set of photocopies (mentioned above) to the guy in the glass counter. He will take your passport and ask you to sit in the briefing room.
• After 30 minutes you'll be given back your passport, along with some other forms
• You have to deposit:
• PKR 2000 for Insurance - this is done at a counter in the same building 
• PKR 2000 for Worker Welfare Fund (OPF) - at HBL branch in C block Model town
• PKR 2500 as registration fee - at National Bank in C Block Model Town
• Once done, go back and submit your passport along with the deposit evidence and the forms provided. 
• Return around 3pm to collect passport with the protector's stamp

Getting passport in Pakistan without hassle

We have all experienced the long queues and incessant chatter of agents outside passport offices. This post will help you circumvent most queues and allow you to get a passport with ease. Be sure to follow these guidelines:

1. Payment: You are required to pay a fee for getting your passport printed. You have the option of getting an urgent or normal delivery passport. (Normal passport arrives in whereas Urgent arrives in 4 days). Update: DGIP has introduced a method for ONLINE payment  called Passport fee Asaan)

In addition, you can get a passport for 5 or 10 years validity and have the option of 36, 72 or 100 pages. The payment structure for MRP passport as follows:

Payment in Rs.	Normal (10 days delivery)		Urgent (4 days delivery)
Pages / Validity	5 YEAR	10 YEAR	5 YEAR	10 YEAR
36 pages	3,000	4,500	5,000	7,500
72 pages	5,500	8,250	9,000	13,500
100 pages	6,000	9,000	12,000	18,000

Price correct as of Jul 2023

Decide on what you need and deposit this amount in National Bank. There is an NBP booth at Lahore Garden Town Passport office, but I recommend depositing this fee a day before going to the passport office. With the launch of Passport Fee Asaan, avoid going to the bank and pay online through the link above. In case you STILL want to pay at a bank, do it 1 day before the day you plan to go to the Passport Office.

You will need to print and fill this slip: https://www.nbp.com.pk/Forms-Applications/PassportChallanForm.pdf to be able to pay

And here are the branches of NBP that accept this payment: http://www.dgip.gov.pk/Files/Banks.aspx
Now you can deposit fee in any branch of NBP

Remember, you SHOULD deposit this fee a DAY before going to the office OR use Passport Fee Asaan online paymenr method.

2. Documents needed:

For a citizen's passport you need:
A. Your original CNIC and 2 copies of your CNIC (for children less than 18, Form B and need a guardian to accompany them)
B. Your previous passport and 1 copy of it  (if available)
C. Challan copy showing you have paid the passport fee

Get this done before going to the passport office.

3. Which office:

Here's a list of passport offices in Pakistan: http://www.dgip.gov.pk/files/Offices.aspx

The DGIP has also introduced an "e-passport" which is different than an MRP because it has an embedded chip. Both are being issues and acceptable for travel. However, "e-passport" fee is higher (see here) and the roll-out is only in Islamabad for now.

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Why I posted the above method is to help first time Passport Applicants from the Mafia of agents who feed the Passport Office officials, guards, employees as well. 

It was 2006, when I decided to get my passport made, and we chose the Barket Market Passport Office for the deed. However, we survived a callous attempt by an agent to scam money extra money out of us.

We decided to get normal passports for me and my father, so Rs. 4,200 would be the cost. As the lines were long and we were new to the process, we were coaxed by an agent to rent his services. First, we gave them Rs. 4,500 to deposit in the bank against the passport fee. The remaining Rs. 300 was pocketed by the agent on account of "too much heat" in the bank. 

Second, we were only helped in getting inside the Passport Office. All other processes, we had to carry out ourselves. Since my passport was a fresh one, I had to get it attested. The agent did not offer any  help and when I came back to submit the form, the "incharge" told me that the signatures were not correct because the signatory was not a Government agent. This gave the agent a whiff of money. He made up a story that "my number was not being fetched" in the Passport system, hence we would have to go to the other passport office on Abbott Road. So the next day, we took the agent to the other passport office, he took Rs. 2,000 from us but said that the problem could not be solved. This time he said that we would have to take a trip to Islamabad which would cost us Rs. 10,000 to fix the issue. 

By this time, we had had enough and we told him to return the money we had given him so far. Not expecting this response from such naive customers, the agent balked and said he would try again. Next day, the form was submitted and I received the passport 15 days later. Hence, we lost Rs. 2,300 to the agent who only helped us deposit the passport fee and was about to scam us for Rs. 10,000. 

After this incident, I never used an agent for my passport renewal. I submitted the fee myself a day earlier, reached the office early morning and got done quickly. 

Unfortunately, many people and even friends of mine get scammed with the same "number not being fetched" line because they do not know better.

Number plates in Lahore

In late 2006, the Punjab Govt of Mr. Pervaiz Elahi and it's Excise and Taxation department introduced new number plates for motor vehicles. The rationale  behind this intervention was to put computer readable number plates on all vehicles in order to have better vigilance through CCTV cameras. The number plates are issued for four categories (see image below).

The system functioned smoothly before the 2011 debacle when the contractor (3M) providing these plates was "blacklisted", which put a halt on computerized number plates being issued to commuters. For the period between 2011 and 2013, the system remained suspended and Excise department was only too happy to provide the vehicle registration number so buyers of new vehicles could get a counterfeit number plate made from street-side vendors.

In 2014, another department of the Government decided that it was time to change number plates of Punjab. Various newspapers were fed stories of "special US-like" number plates to be rolled out. Fortunately, nothing materialized and the E&T department has stuck with its original design.

Why I'm writing about this today is because the E&T department now wants only standardized number plates in Punjab. Older and counterfeit number plates have no room in Punjab, according to the department. Ironically, the department itself led to a boom in the fake plate industry when it was unable to provide computerized number plates between 2011 and 2013.

There are two parts to this story: the sad one and the good one. The sad part is that while we never got a computerized number plate (during 2011 and 2013), we had already paid for it when getting the registration number. The good part is that we can now get the authenticated plates from E&T dept (Farid Kot House), free of charge*. Why I put an asterisk next to free of charge is because while you don't pay for the plates in monetary terms, it was a hassle just to get hands on them.

When I entered the office to get these plates in 2016 (having paid for it in 2013), I was guided by an efficient yet geriatric receptionist towards the back office. Although there was a board listing which offices were found on what floor, it was impossible to make any sense of it. I wandered a bit before asking a person sitting outside an office (possibly a Naib Qasib), about where I should go for number plates. The person informed me that the same could be received from the upper floor. When I climbed the stairs, there was no guidance here as well so I had to ask another gentleman who asked me to move one floor higher. Having reached the top floor, I was thankful that I couldn't be asked to go higher, but the person dealing with number plates, after seeing my registration year asked me to go to the first floor.

After having no luck on the first floor, I approached the office of "director", who asked me to meet a Mr. Adeel Amjad on this very floor. After reaching Mr. Amjad's office, where he wasn't present, I was asked to meet Mr. Aslam Nadir. Mr. Nadir was busy dealing with number plates and was a bit agitated at Mr. Amjad's staff for having referred me towards him. In order to end the ordeal, I asked Mr. Nadir what my next steps should be? He asked me to see a Mr. Imran in the basement.

After consulting a few more Naib Qasids, I was able to locate Mr. Imran, sitting in a hidden office lined with number plates. Mr. Imran kept entering new number plates into his record register. After 5 minutes, he was able to find time to ask me my problem. I handed my registration to him, with which he disappeared into the backroom. During this time I kept thinking whether or not my number plates would be here, since there could be millions of other places where it could be. Interestingly, Mr. Imran returned with my set of plates and handed them to me. It was surprising that he found 3-year old plates in less than two minutes although the mess in the backroom made it seem impossible. So after 30 minutes of exercise ascending and descending stairs, I had what I came to get.

The E&T department needs to do the following:

• Make sure it is easier to get number plates. TCS delivery is available but the system doesnt seem to work
• Ensure that the crackdown continues. Even today we see outrageous number plate designs
• Address the basic issues - Tests for driver license & vehicle fitness
• Get rid of certain departments trying to get credit for E&T activities (explained later)

Certain interventions have been proposed by certain "units" in the Punjab Government in "collaboration with the E&T department" which can be at best described as frivolous. DVRS, VVTP culture and Excise 2.0 Vanity plates are two examples of the branding used. Although such interventions are not harmful per se, they serve more as initiatives to be reported in the press rather than initiatives that would lead to any real change. 

The same "units" claim to have changed the motor vehicle tax payment system. However, as I've described, the masses have to go through the same ordeal to get their number plates. The same applies for registering a new vehicle, transferring ownership, paying yearly token taxes.

Putting a sticker on the car doesn't mollify the pain suffered to get that sticker in the first place. Vanity plates may be ubiquitous in the US, but so are proper driver license and vehicle fitness tests, something the "units" and Punjab Govt have claimed to address but only in newspapers, not in reality.

Exam on Eid day!

After reading the title, I'm sure you would have thought I'm a whiny brat narrating some anecdote from my time abroad which I spent on my father's money. Let me disabuse you of that notion. This story took place in Lahore, Pakistan in October 2006.

My school decided that it was best to appear for our Islamiat and Pak Studies O Level exams in October of 2006 rather than in June the next year. This led to a hasty stretch to complete syllabus to both courses, neither of which was complete.

But the bigger problem was that the exams fell during the Holy Month of Ramazan. With our backs against the wall, we somehow survived the Pak Studies exam. What awaited us was unheard of. The Eid moon was not sighted, which meant there would be 30 'rozas', aligning our Islamiat Paper 1 with the Eid day! To top it off, the paper was to start at 8 am.

I remember missing Eid prayers, something I hadn't done before or since that fateful day in October. My cousins were celebrating while I went for my exam. As if this wasn't enough, the second part of the exam was the next day.

When I remember that Eid, I do not feel sad because of missing out on the fun but because there was no resistance to that schedule before or after the exam session. What hurt me most was my friends' obsequence. I know you can't change the schedule but at least shoot an email to the British Council condeming their lack of sensitivity to our religious festivities. Just imagine these exams being held on Christmas eve. Impossible!

Why I write this now is for the future candidates who wish to take these exams in the years to come. As Ramazan moves into May, the chances of Eid falling on an exam day will rise. Schools and candidates should request the British council to at least schedule no exams on the 2-3 days that Eid could fall on. It isn't too much to ask given the amount of revenues the British Council derives from O and A level exams conducted in Pakistan.

Tax return filing made easy

The Federal Board Revenue (FBR) has made your life easy by automating the process for getting an NTN number and filing income tax returns.

In order to get an NTN, follow these steps:
1) Visit FBR's new registration website (Register here)
2) Fill out your CNIC, Name and the image characters
3) This will take you to a form, where you have to fill your details
4) Submit the form

Once you have submitted your form, in a week or so you will be informed that your registration has been successful and that you can take your registration certificate from the given offices. You can either go to that office OR you can just visit FBR's new registration website again (given above). Enter the same details you entered earlier, the system will inform you that the displayed NTN number has already been assigned to you. Save this number for your record.

Once you have your NTN number, it is time to start filing returns. Follow these steps:
1) Go to FBR's website for e-enrollment. (This is the link)
2) Select your Taxpayer type (Individual, AOP, Business)
3) Enter your new NTN, CNIC and image characters
4) You will be asked to enter some information. After entering, submit the form.
5) A message will acknowledge your application and inform you that an email has been sent to your provided address
6) Wait for the email. When it arrives, click the acknowledge link, enter your activation code and print the form
7) You will shortly receive your username and password for filing
8) Also, post the printed form to the address specified in the email

Evolution of Mortein mosquito repellant machines

Mortein started with this capped hut design for their mosquito repellent machines in 2005. 

This was later replaced by this red and white ball design which was aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.

 The third and latest design is this red and grey ball design with the addition of of a vaporizer control which allows users to reduce the emission of repellent liquid according to their requirements.

This compact design was introduced in 2017 and was the 3rd iteration

I noticed a slightly changed design of the Mortein mosquito repellent machine, which is the 4th iteration. It is similarly to the one above but without the red styling. The machine now bears an all white non-descript design. We can no longer change the vaporizer level as that functionality is not available in this edition.