In line with the government’s Digital Pakistan goal, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) would likely release an upgrade to an existing app later this year.
As stated by Nadra CEO Tariq Malik, “We have released the ‘Pak Identification’ mobile app as a crucial building block of digital ID to assist applicants of national identity cards via an internet site. No need to visit a Nadra office or embassy to gather biometric fingerprints, face recognition, and scan documents for processing ID cards.
He claimed that Pakistan was the first nation to use “contactless biometric” collection and verification using smartphone cameras. “After 75,000 foreign Pakistanis try it, Nadra will opt for a digital wallet,” he added.
Over 75,000 abroad Pakistanis have processed their national identification cards [called Nicop] via the app, which supports two-factor authentication.
The Nadra chairman described the digital wallet as a digital ID. “This invention would revolutionise the national ID eco-system in Pakistan by assuring public convenience,” he added
Remote identification and e-KYC (electronic know your customer) are two of the digital benefits of such technological progress, he noted.
“EVM or no EVM, polls would have to be conducted using the Nadra data,” stated the authority’s head. But the authorities has no part in the machine’s functioning. “It’s the EC’s domain.”
Notably, Nadra has registered 120 million adults (96%) so far, with Balochistan accounting for 83.3%, compared to over 96.3% in other provinces.
Nadra plans to establish centre in the remaining 20 tehsils by June, bringing the total to 356 throughout the nation.
