LAHORE, Oct 29: The Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) is all set to serve as debit card besides remaining the main source of identity of the Pakistanis.

“The basic aim of preparing CNICs, particularly for the women, is to ensure their maximum participation in the socio-economic mainstream of the society,” National Database and Registration Authority chairman Brig Saleem Moin retired told APP on Sunday.

The chairman said that his department was facing some problems in preparing CNICs for women in NWFP. “Women there are reluctant to get their CNICs prepared due to various reasons”.

Moin said that Nadra had decided to introduce “women day” to facilitate them to get CNICs while mobile teams comprising lady workers were also being arranged in this regard.

About establishing kiosks for utility bills payment, he pointed out that with the introduction of same facility at Sanda Road here on Saturday, the total number of such kiosks in the country had risen to 22.

“The authority plans to spread the network of such kiosks to every nook and corner of the country to facilitate citizens”, Moin said, adding that more than 140 kiosks would be established all over the Punjab by the current year.

He further said that he had discussed establishment of kiosk machines at all the utility stores in the country where people would be able to make payment of grocery purchased through their CNICs cards which would turn into debit cards in next phases.

He further said that without disturbing the existing banking system, the Nadra kiosks, set up mostly in the densely populated and lower-income group areas, were also serving as bankers for such people where they deposited their daily earnings even in double-digit amounts with the help of CNICs.

“As daily-earning deposit piles up, the CNICs would be used as debit cards at all the utility stores where machines could be operated only by putting thumb impression”, he pointed out.

He said a huge amount of Rs 11 million was deposited by public in those kiosks all over the country last Saturday.

To a question about introducing computerisation of land record which is hitherto done by patwaris, Saleem Moin said that Nadra had already introduced the scheme in three sectors in Islamabad area and added his department would be happy if rest of the provinces approached the authority for the computerisation of land record. —APP