Pakistan installs biometric ID gates at Afghanistan border

The Pakistani government has installed biometric identity verification devices at the border with Afghanistan, according to the Business Recorder to ease the process of passing between the countries.

The Recorder reports Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar directed Tariq Malik, the chairman of the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA), to install the agency’s Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) at the Torkham border.

The IBMS incorporates document verification and biometrics to verify the identity of individuals crossing a border. Malik, who showed the IBMS being used in a LinkedIn post, says 14 terminals were already installed at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border at Chamman, Balochistan. Approximately 20,000 people are said to cross the Chaman border every day, according to Malik.

The Recorder also says Malik briefed Minister Khar about the NADRA’s efforts to develop an online system that will allow overseas Pakistanis to have the power of attorney. NADRA offers a similar service for registering overseas Pakistanis with remote biometric onboarding.

The Nation also reports Pakistan’s federal budget diverted PKR 450 million (approximately US$2.18 million) to upgrade biometric identification system for passport application at the headquarters of the country’s Passport Office.

As biometric applications are being implemented for a range of uses across the country, the Pakistan Science Foundation has signed a deal with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) to fund up to 15 joint research projects in fields including biometrics, Pakistan’s Daily Times reports.

Article Topics

Afghanistan  |  biometrics  |  border control  |  digital identity  |  document verification  |  identity verification  |  NADRA  |  Pakistan