KARACHI, April 6: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad has said that the people who have not yet acquired the Computerized National Identity Cards may be allowed to use their old NICs for casting votes in the upcoming local bodies’ polls, indicating that the facility has not yet been fully extended to rural areas.“The matter is under consideration and any decision to this effect will be taken soon,” the governor said while responding to questions from journalists at the inaugural ceremony of Nadra’s Swift Registration Centre (NSRC) at Ayesha Manzil.
He lauded Nadra’s efforts towards providing modern facilities at its NSRCs.
He was informed that a total of 24 such centres, besides three distribution centres, were functioning in the city.
Dr Ibad said that other institutions, including excise department and law-enforcement agencies, would be integrated with Nadra for which the federal government was being approached.
Stressing the need for decentralization of Nadra, he said this would help provide the registration facility more effectively.
In reply to a question, he said the process for local government election would start next month.
The governor also visited Nadra’s Sindh headquarters here on Wednesday where its Director-General Brig Abid Haider Kazmi briefed him on the Authority’s current and future projects, as well as its Vehicle Identification and Tracking System (VITS).
Describing the VITS as a state-of-the-art system developed by Nadra, Brig Kazmi said it would help law-enforcement agencies not only in curbing vehicle theft, but also in grabbing tax evading vehicles.
A central vehicle registration system will be established for the identification of all vehicles, irrespective of the province it belongs to. All manufacturers and importers will also be registered.
To curb vehicle theft, a passive wind-shield radio frequency sticker will be used as a transponder or a machine readable vehicle identity number (VIN) will be used to keep a check on every vehicle. The radio frequency reading devices will be placed at designated highways and roads where police with a mobile hand-held smart card readers, will be checking the owner’s vehicle registration cards.
According to Brig Kazmi, the system will be supported by Nadra’s existing network and data warehouse infrastructure. —PPI/APP
