Pakistan will soon set up its first overseas Swift Registration Centre in Dubai to speed up the processing of new ID cards for expatriates.
Brigadier (Retd) Saleem Ahmed Moeen, Chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority of Pakistan (NADRA), said the centre will speed up the process of issuing the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP).
The card was introduced in September last year.
Brig. Moeen told Gulf News in an exclusive interview during a stopover in Dubai that the centre will not only make the process simple for applicants, but also prevent delays. Many expatriates have complained that the processing time is too long.
"The centres have already been introduced in various cities of Pakistan," he said, adding that they help provide paperless service. A NADRA official directly meets applicants and feeds data into the computer. "Applicants will not have to fill forms while applying for NICOP cards."
He claimed that around 7,300 Pakistanis from the UAE had applied for their cards and around 4,000 had already been delivered.
On people's complaints regarding inordinate delays while issuing cards, he said: "The main objective of introducing these new computerised identity cards is to build a national database on Pakistani citizens and to check holders of fake ID cards. We conduct thorough investigations about applicants to determine their Pakistani nationality before issuing them cards," he said.
Though there is no deadline set to obtain cards, it is mandatory for every Pakistani, including children.
The NICOP has so far got a poor response in the UAE because of a shortage of application forms and lengthy procedure.
Applicants are asked at the missions to pay the fee while obtaining forms which should be provided free of cost. The fee is only required to be deposited while submitting applications.
A consulate official justified this by saying they have a limited number of forms and are taking the card fee while giving forms to control distribution of forms.
The NADRA official had earlier announced application forms would also be available in Pakistani schools and banks in the UAE, but this has not yet been done.
The NICOP is a mandatory requirement for all Pakistanis living abroad for a period of six months or more. The card also checks infiltration by those who hold fake Pakistani ID cards and passports. It is to replace the old national identity card.
The NICOP is a machine-readable document and will facilitate movement through immigration controls. It is an identification document which can be used instead of the National Identity Card (NIC) wherever required.
As it carries a number of security features to safeguard against fraudulent use, authorities at the airports or other exit or entry points will be able to identify the person and get his or her data as soon as the card is swiped at the special data reading machines.
The NICOP is not only an identification document, but it also offers unique privileges and facilities to its holders including visa free entry into Pakistan, protection of Pakistan government in any foreign country or state, membership to Overseas Pakistani Foundation (OFP) and above all trouble free handling at Pakistani airports as there will be a separate line for NICOP holders.
An NRP will have to produce this card while availing himself of services such as passport renewal at Pakistani missions abroad and within Pakistan.
NICOP holders will be issued free Pakistani ID cards once they go back to Pakistan for good. NICOP will be in English while the Pakistani ID card is in Urdu.
Gulf News
