Special Report
NADRA is the national repository of identity documents in Pakistan. Since its establishment in March 2000 following the merger of Directorate General of Registration Pakistan and the National Database Organization (NDO), NADRA has touched the lives of every Pakistani by establishing their identity and emerged as the leading identity solution provider for the world’s third-largest demographic segment.
Since its inception under the visionary leadership of Major General Zahid Ihsan, NADRA’s mission has always been to empower the citizens and state of Pakistan through secure and verifiable identity systems and integrated databases. Resultantly, NADRA is facilitating inclusive, equitable and authorized access to government and private services while supporting good governance.
From issuing the first Computerized National Identity Card, a pioneering step in South Asia, to establishing international partnerships that reflect its technological capabilities, NADRA continuously strives to serve Pakistan’s diverse needs.
Today, NADRA operates through its eight Regional Head Offices (RHOs) and an extensive network of 837 NADRA Registration Centres (NRCs) nationwide, along with 222 Mobile Registration Vans (MRVs). Network expansion is an ongoing activity with 48 new NRCs including 2 Female NRCs were established in 2023. Out of these, 14 NRCs were established in Tehsils without NRCs.
NADRA introduces alternate verification service “Tasdeeq” for senior citizens
Recognizing the importance of providing support to Pakistanis living abroad, NADRA has established 10 centres strategically located in different parts of the world.
NADRA takes pride in its modern and user-friendly online platforms, including the state-of-the-art Pak Identity web portal and mobile application, which enable Pakistani citizens to access its services efficiently. Recently, Pak Identity mobile app has undergone significant enhancements to streamline the application process for National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP), Smart IDs, and Family Registration Certificates (FRC), with the introduction of digital signatures and fingerprints acquisition.
During the year 2023, NADRA issued 29.9 million identity documents through its NRCs network as well as online operations. Additionally, 6.76 million Child Registration Certificates (CRCs), 0.65 million Smart NICOPs and 0.29 million Smart POCs were issued during the same period.
A regular feature of NADRA’s citizens’ service is the holding of e-Katchehris for immediate resolution of the problems and complaints of the citizens who can directly communicate with Chairman NADRA as well as regional heads and get their problems resolved on the spot.
NADRA has established a dedicated department called Inclusive Registration Department (IRD) to increase registration of all segments of the society, especially women and transgender persons.
IRD actively promotes the registration of marginalized communities by creating awareness about the pivotal role of identity in empowering individuals for fair participation in society. Through various initiatives such as Mobile Registration Vans, media campaigns, and stakeholder engagement, IRD strives to eliminate barriers to registration.
A significant achievement for ensuring gender inclusivity and empowerment was recorded in 2023 with female registration reaching 50%.
Succession Registration is another initiative by NADRA, demonstrating its commitment to facilitating legal processes related to property inheritance. NADRA processed over 51,752 applications in 2023. The deployment of unified application and web portal systems across the country resulted in enhancing efficiency and accessibility for citizens.
NTL and NRTC Forge Partnership for Indigenous Biometric Technology Development
NADRA has been entrusted by Ministry of Interior and Provincial Governments for issuing Arms Licenses.
NADRA, in response to Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) directives, established a committee presided over by its Chairman. A comprehensive report was prepared and submitted to Federal Government within 35 days. Focused on expanding the tax net through data integration and AI modeling, the report included a detailed plan to add 4 million taxpayers in next six quarters, along with six actionable plans and recommendations to support economic digitization.
NADRA developed Pakistan Online Visa System (POVS) in the light of revised visa policy-2019 and automated the entire visa processing and issuance mechanism. Foreigners seeking Pakistani visa can apply online from the comfort of their homes. In 2023, a new type of Exit Permit (Humanitarian Safe Passage Permit-HSSP) was incorporated in POVS. HSSP is being issued to Afghan Nationals being relocated. So far, 2,727,413 applications have been processed through the system.
For Sehat Sahulat Programme being implemented by the Federal Government as well as the provincial governments of Punjab, KPK and Balochistan, NADRA is providing wide range of services including Data Verification, Centralized Management Information, call center, data hosting and allied services, public website, query based 8500 SMS service and Digital Health Card through Mobile App and website
NADRA is providing services to Excise and Taxation Department ETD-ICT by replacing conventional vehicle manual booklets with a secure chip based smart card. Alongside, NADRA is providing motorbike identification card for new registration and transfer of ownership.
Biometric Verification Services are being provided by NADRA to various government and non-government organizations including Temporary Displaced Persons – Emergency Recovery Project, development authorities and DHAs
In July 2008, the Government of Pakistan launched the Benazir Income Support Program, a world-renowned social protection initiative, and NADRA, in collaboration with the World Bank, completed the digitization of household survey. Taking advantage of innovations like big data, NADRA identified 2.3 million eligible beneficiaries and for the first time in the nation’s history, established the National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government used the database to distribute Rs 179.2 billion among 16.8 million households.
The static database has now been converted into a dynamic database. NADRA has also developed a secure Biometric Verification Service for cash withdrawal transactions of BISP beneficiaries and integrated the developed service with financial institutions.
NADRA in collaboration with Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has developed an automated process for issuance of Power of Attorney for Overseas Pakistanis.Using the system, Overseas Pakistanis can apply and obtain the Power of Attorney (PoA) from the convenience of their homes, without having physically visit the Pakistani Foreign Missions (FM) which may be located at a significant distance.
NADRA successfully deployed a complete digital system of digital population and household census including a dedicated web portal for Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). NADRA delivered 126,000 secure tablets to PBS well in time which were used in 495 census districts across the country for Digital Census.
The Government of Pakistan has assigned NADRA with the responsibility to develop and implement the Somali National Identification System Project (SNIDS). A project agreement has been formalized between NADRA and the Government of Somalia for this purpose.
NADRA has been providing Annual Support & Maintenance to Department of Immigration Services Kenya.
NADRA has been working with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) of Nigeria on the National ID Card project, providing services as a Back-end System Integrator. The partnership spans over 14 years and includes custom development of the National ID System Middleware. The latest contract awarded in 2023 focuses on modernizing Nigeria’s middleware solution for a more advanced identity ecosystem.
NADRA of Pakistan to Provide Identity Solutions to Nigerian NIMC
