The minister of state for information technology and telecommunication has highlighted that there will be duplication of functions under the proposed "Digital Nation Pakistan" law.
At a recent high-level meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Digital Nation Pakistan law, which embodies initiatives similar to those being proposed by the Ministry of Interior in the National Registration and Biometric Policy Framework, came up for discussion.
The Ministry of Interior assured the cabinet that overlaps would be removed in consultation with the Ministry of IT and Telecom. It recalled that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) had been established in 2000 through the NADRA Ordinance, 2000.
In Pakistan, registration challenges were multifaceted, stemming from gaps in regulatory frameworks and systemic disintegration, leading to illegal intrusions affecting the integrity of the national population registry maintained by NADRA.
The cabinet was informed that among the key problem areas was that the responsibility for reporting vital events remained with citizens rather than NADRA and the state was facing accessibility challenges due to the limited NADRA facilities.
Also, there were significant discrepancies between the registration data maintained by Union Councils and NADRA. Multiple biometric galleries operate in silos without standardised protocols with no regulatory frameworks for the storage and sharing of biometric data.
Additionally, the CNIC chip is underutilised due to the absence of downstream and upstream infrastructure, necessitating the use of multiple cards.
The cabinet was told that in light of the instructions given by the PM, a national steering committee, headed by the federal minister for interior, was proposed.
The committee comprises high-ranking officials from different government sectors, including the federal minister for information, minister of state for IT and telecom and Ministry of Interior secretary as members.
Apart from them, the Ministry of Planning secretary along with chief secretaries of all provincial governments and secretaries of local governments are also its members. NADRA chairman is the secretary of the committee.
It was pointed out that the PM had given directives that the case should be placed before the cabinet for its consideration.
Keeping in view the above things, the approval of the federal cabinet was solicited for the National Registration and Biometric Policy Framework and the national steering committee.
The cabinet considered a summary titled "National Registration & Biometric Policy Framework" and approved the proposal with the directive that the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of IT would ensure that there was no overlapping or duplication of their roles and responsibilities under the Digital Nation Pakistan law and the National Registration and Biometric Policy Framework.
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