By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The government has expanded the legal definition of biometrics to include facial and iris scans alongside fingerprints, paving the way for a new system of contactless identity verification that aims to ease longstanding hurdles for citizens whose prints have faded with age or illness.
The change, announced by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) takes effect amid directives from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to resolve persistent complaints about biometric failures at banks, cellphone providers and other institutions.
Under the amended National Identity Card Rules, Nadra has rolled out technical upgrades enabling facial recognition and contactless fingerprint scans. The system is already in use for transferring vehicles registered in Islamabad and for online passport applications, with plans to extend it soon to proof-of-life certificates for federal pensioners.
Starting Jan. 20, Nadra will begin issuing facial recognition-based verification certificates at its registration centers nationwide for a fee of Rs20. The certificates will serve citizens unable to complete fingerprint scans, a problem that has frustrated many elderly or medically impaired Pakistanis during routine transactions like property transfers or opening bank accounts.
The process is straightforward. If a fingerprint scan fails at a service provider, the individual visits a nearby Nadra center for a fresh photograph. Nadra matches it against the image on file and, if verified, issues a certificate listing the verification purpose, the citizen’s recent and archived photos, national identity card number, name, father’s name, a unique tracking ID and a QR code.
Valid for seven days, the document can then be submitted to the institution, which verifies it online through Nadra and adds it to its records. Nadra officials described the move as a robust legal foundation for multi-biometric systems, one that strengthens safeguards against identity fraud while broadening access to digital services. The authority is phasing in expansions, including availability through its e-Sahulat franchises and, after the formal launch of a national Digital ID, via the Pak ID mobile app for all services.
To make the system fully operational, Nadra has called on regulators, public agencies and private firms to update their hardware and software. In the initial phase, institutions must adapt their applications to integrate Nadra’s certificates. Later, they will need to add cameras at service counters or incorporate them into existing know-your-customer machines. “Upon full implementation, citizens will be able to avail this facility directly at the relevant institution without the need to visit a Nadra Registration Centre,” the authority said in a statement.
The upgrades address a common grievance in Pakistan, where substandard fingerprint readers at many outlets exacerbate issues for those with worn prints. Though the State Bank of Pakistan and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority have guidelines to accommodate such cases, citizens often encounter delays or denials. Nadra emphasized its readiness to deliver the service and urged the Interior Ministry to instruct all relevant bodies to comply swiftly. If problems arise after Jan. 20, the authority advised, complaints should be directed to the institution in question, as Nadra’s end will be functional.
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