The federal government is ready to issue e-passports from next year onward.
The decision was made during a meeting chaired by the Minister of Interior, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, in Islamabad, which was attended by the Secretary of Interior, the Chairman of the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA), the Director-General (DG) of Immigration and Passports, and the Additional DG of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
This step is being considered as a key factor in eradicating all the obstacles to the current manual system and will assist overseas Pakistanis in processing their online applications conveniently via an updated system.
A microchip with all the biometric information of an individual, such as pictures, fingerprints, and other relevant information, will be embedded in each e-passport to facilitate the authentication of the identity of travelers. Biometric documents will speed up the identification process, simplifying passport control, and paving the way for the automation of services.
With the update, two pictures of the passport holder will be displayed on the main page of the new e-passport. The launch of the e-passport service will also help airport authorities to complete travel procedures efficiently and quickly.
The government had announced in February that all visa applications would be processed through an online visa portal to phase out the exhausting manual visa system and allow citizens to apply for visas in a secure and easy manner.