ISLAMABAD, Aug 19: Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat told the National Assembly on Thursday that the government would start issuing machine-readable passports by mid-September.

"Even the United States would not have this by September," he said while replying to questions in the assembly. He said Pakistan would be among the first few countries to issue such passports.

The minister rejected the assertion of People's Party Parliamentarians MNA Naveed Qamar that biometric passports would be introduced as a technology of the future in a few years.

"Machine-readable passports are more advanced than biometrics, with appropriate security safeguards," said the minister. In a written response to a question by MNA Rana Asif Tauseef, Mr Hayat said computerized national identity card or B-form in the case of children would be required in addition to original passport fee deposit slip for the passport.

He said the data would be transcribed in a system after the fingerprints, signatures and photograph of the applicant are captured. After examination and interview by an assistant director, immigration and passports, a system-generated receipt would be issued for collection of the passport.

When MNA Liaquat Baloch questioned the need for examination and interview by an official when data on citizens was available with the National Database and Registration Authority, the minister said that under the Passport Act, no one except an assistant director, immigration, could issue the passport. He said the official could also be held accountable if anything went wrong in issuance of passports.

In reply to a question by Rana Asif Tauseef, the minister said his ministry had asked the government to approve a Rs2.4 billion package to revamp Islamabad police. He said the PC-1 of the project had been prepared and after its approval funding was likely to be made available in the financial year 2005-06.

He said a major chunk of the funds amounting to Rs800 million would be utilized for construction of police barracks and raising a new security force for very very important personalities. The minister informed the house that two police stations in the capital were established in private buildings.