As part of the government’s Digital Pakistan vision, the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) is trying to turn computerised national identity cards into digital wallets, with an update to an existing app expected later this year.
In an exclusive interview Nadra Chief Tariq Malik said, “To bring this to life, we’ve released the ‘Pak Identity’ mobile app as a major component of digital ID, allowing applicants for national identity cards to apply online.” He said that the software is able to capture biometric fingerprints, facial recognition, and scan papers needed for processing a person’s ID card using cellphones, without having to visit a Nadra office or embassy.
“Using the app, which is backed by two-factor authentication, 75,000 abroad Pakistanis have processed their national identity cards [called Nicop] from the comfort of their homes in a short period of time,” he stated. The app is compatible with both Android and iOS devices.
Malik claimed that with the release of this software, Pakistan has become the first country to use smartphone cameras for “contactless biometric” acquisition and verification. “Nadra would opt for a digital wallet after successful testing on 75,000 foreign Pakistanis,” he said.
The Nadra chairman described the attributes of the digital wallet as a “unique digital ID”. “This innovation will revolutionise the national ID eco-system in Pakistan by ensuring public convenience, and is a leap forward putting an end to the conventional physical ID,” he said.
“The digital dividends of such technology innovation will yield positive results in contactless banking, financial inclusion, ease of doing business, and e-governance initiatives by offering remote identification and e-KYC (electronic know your customer),” he added.
Nadra has registered 120 million adults (96 percent of the total population aged above 18) to date, with Balochistan constituting 83pc registration, compared to over 96pc in other provinces.
“Nadra is going to open centres in the remaining 20 of the total 517 tehsils in the country by June,” he said, adding that the authority would also launch 96 mobile vans, taking their number to 356 countrywide.
Regarding the thorny issue of the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in future elections and Nadra’s role in the verification of data, the authority’s chairman said: “EVM or no EVM, polls will have to be held through the Nadra data. However, the authority has no role in the operation of the machine. It’s the Election Commission’s domain,” he stated.
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