ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to restore the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) facility at the Consulate General of Pakistan in Toronto for the convenience of compatriots.

This was disclosed on Wednesday during an online public forum-cum-ekatchehry organised by the Pakistan High Commission in Canada and hosted by Consul General in Toronto Abdul Hameed.

Answering various questions of the community, the consul general said the decision to re-establish the Nadra facility in Toronto had been taken in view of difficulties faced by the community members in accessing Nadra services, including new National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop), passports and uploading their fingerprints for these documents from remote locations.

Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan Shahbaz Malik said the high commission and its consulates in Canada were at the disposal of the diaspora. The mission officials were always accessible in person as well as through phone, email or the social media accounts being operated by the mission and its consulates to engage with the community in real time.

Mr Malik said the government had started providing visa and passport services online, but for any other services the members of the diaspora were welcomed to visit the high commission and its consulates.

Consul General in Montreal Ishtiak Ahmed Akil said they were all set to operate a dedicated facilitation centre at the consulate to provide the community members technical help and facilitation in completing their online applications and uploading documents on the Nadra system.

In reply to a question, Deputy Consul General in Vancouver Ghulam Hussain said the Consulate had conveyed to the Nadra authorities the concerns of Pakistani expatriates living in western Canada in travelling long distances to visit the consulate in Vancouver just because accessing the Nadra system from home did not help some time due to limited number of attempts allowed for uploading documents and fingerprints for Nicops and other services.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2022