ID card scheme for Pakistanis launched

Pakistan's Interior Minister Lt. Gen. (retd) Moinuddin Haider yesterday launched the long-awaited National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop).

"Nicop card will be a mandatory requirement for all Pakistanis living abroad for a period of six months or more," he said, addressing prominent community members at the launch ceremony held at Ramada Continental Hotel in Dubai.

The minister said that another scheme of machine-readable passports would also be launched soon to eliminate fake passports held by people of various nationalities.

He said that procedure of the issuance of Nicop would be very simple and it would be issued to all members of the family unlike the existing national identity card, which is issued to those aged 18 and above.

Haider also briefed the gathering on various steps taken by the present government to improve the economy, eliminate terrorism, sectarianism and maintain the law and order situation in the country.

He said that computers were being installed at all the 18 exit and entry points in Pakistan to register the movement of people travelling abroad or coming to country.

The National Database and Registration Authority of Pakistan (Nadra) will issue the cards. Special counters will be opened at the Pakistani missions to process the applications for the new cards.

"The main objective of issuing the Nicop to overseas Pakistanis is to eliminate existing fake ID cards, prepare a complete database of Non-Resident Pakistanis and to check infiltration of those holding fake Pakistani documents," he said.

Nicop is a machine-readable document and will facilitate movement through immigration controls.
Holders of these cards will have to swipe the cards at the time of arrival or departure from the country.

As it carries a number of security features to safeguard against any fraudulent use, authorities at the airports or other exit or entry points in the country will be able to identify the person and get his or her data as soon as the card is swiped.

Nadra's Director General Projects Brigadier Khalid Javaid briefed the gathering details on the new card.

Two categories of identity card, which will be part of the launching programme, are National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop ) and Pakistan Origin Card (POC).

All Pakistani citizens simultaneously holding the nationality of any other foreign country and all Pakistani citizens holding resident or immigrant visa, whether permanent or otherwise, or equivalent visa or permit of a foreign country are eligible to apply for Nicop cards.

The residents in the UAE and other Gulf countries who do not hold dual nationality are required to apply for Nicop only.

Application forms for the card will be available at the Pakistani missions in the UAE from today.
Forms will also be made available at PIA offices, associations and banks.

"No services will be offered to those who do not get the Nicop card within the specified time," Brig Javaid said, adding that the old Identity cards would automatically be discarded once a person gets the Nicop card.

The card will be valid for only three years and will be renewed after its expiry.

After the necessary processing of the application, the cards will be sent within six to eight weeks to Pakistani missions where the forms were submitted for distribution to applicants. Overseas Pakistani will have to pay US$25 (Dh 91.5) per card.

Every NRP has to produce this card while availing himself of services such as passport renewal at Pakistani missions abroad and within Pakistan.

Cardholders 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 language. Applicants will have to fill in two application forms, in English and Urdu.

According to a Nadra estimate, some four to six million Pakistanis live abroad. They include over one million in Saudi Arabia, around 400,000 in the UAE, 100,000 in Kuwait, 70,000 in Bahrain, and around 70,000 in Oman.