Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Communications Maulana Asad Mehmood was overjoyed as Pakistan Post moved up to seven spots in the 2022 World Postal Rankings, released by Universal Postal Union (UPU).
Mehmood who was the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony of “UMS-Ovenight” Service by Pakistan Post here on Tuesday, said Pakistan Post has reached 155th position from 162 in the world ranking, and further improvements would be made in order to reach new heights. Pakistan Post has moved up to seven spots under his tenure in the Postal Ranking Index which is based on four pillars namely reliability, delivery, relevance and flexibility.
Speaking about the “UMS-Overnight” Service, he said Pakistan Post has upgraded its Express Mail network and this service would begin in nine major cities to provide convenience to the customers.
He said currently next-day delivery would be in nine cities including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Jhelum, Gujranwala and Gujrat.
The minister said UMS overnight include computerized billing and track and trace, special packing and branding, billing and SMS alert at the time of delivery. Next-day mail delivery is the main feature of this service which has a total of 72 routes, he said. Mehmood said Pakistan Post has upgraded its express mail network to meet the needs of time-sensitive customers. This service will also be rolled out across the country in other cities in the time to come.
Convenience to customers and ensuring the timely distribution of mail is our top priority by improving the delivery process. This up-gradation will give Pakistan Post an opportunity to find out its weaknesses in mail delivery and improve them, he said. He said this service would help Pakistan Post regain its trust in people and business. As a result, customers’ confidence in Pakistan Post will also be restored, he said.
Mehmood said since he took charge, he has tried to correct the direction of Pakistan Post. I met with the Director General of Universal Postal Union (UPU) and approved a project from UPU to improve the postal delivery system. Under this project, Pakistan Post with UPU support has already distributed 1000 Honda CD70 motorcycles to its delivery staff, which has resulted in improved mail delivery and distribution.
In the next phase, more than 1000 mobile phones will also be provided to the delivery staff, which will further strengthen the delivery system, he said.
The minister said Pakistan Post in collaboration with Saudi Post, will also fulfil the needs of Hajj pilgrims by sending Aab-e-Zamzam and dates through the sea route. This collaboration is in the final stages and will be implemented soon, he said.
Earlier, Director General Pakistan Post Hafeez Shakeel said 500 of the 1800 post offices that were closed in the previous period have been reopened by the minister. Steps are being taken to restore more, while new 900 franchise post offices have also been opened.
The Director General of Pakistan Post briefed the characteristics of overnight service and said under the guidance of the federal minister, efforts were underway to restore the services of Pakistan Post which were stopped in the previous government’s tenure. Shakeel said the minister was making all-out efforts to revamp Pakistan Post, to restore the confidence of customers on the department.
