Biometric verification to be set up for emigrants

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ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (OP&HRD) is all set to launch a digital system for registration of intending emigrants through biometric verification to ensure transparency and accuracy of outgoing manpower’s record.

Talking to APP, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulifqar Bukhari revealed that he would inaugurate the system on Wednesday at Protectorate of Emigrants, Lahore, considering the overseas Pakistanis workforce the most valuable asset for the country.

The system was meant for swift tracking and would also help the redressal of the issues of expatriate, he added.

The system would ensure that each Intending emigrant at the respective Protectorate of Emigrants Office was being verified/registered through biometric system linked with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), the SAPM said.

He said “It will provide the ministry a database to access the complete and accurate information of outgoing Emigrants and Licenced Overseas Employment Promoters (OEP).

The process of issuance of Overseas Employment Promoters (OEP) License would be computerized under this project to monitor their operational activities so that complete and valid updated data of emigrants can be retrieved as and when required.

Zulifqar Bukhari said, “It would also provide the record of total number of permissions given to outgoing manpower on foreign demand and an effective online complaint management system for the resolving of issues.”

Following the Prime Minister’s vision of introducing paperless culture in every government institutions organization, the SAPM said, the ministry is about to install e-governance in its attached departments to ensure speedy communication among them for which they were in consultation with a private company. The ministry was working on this plan in collaboration with National Information Technology Board which had already installed e-governance in many other organizations.

Underling the benefits of e-governance which was aimed at establishing a framework to digitize the organizational processes, he said, “I could have direct access to the affairs of my department as well as complaints of expatriates.”

The OP&HRD was poised to kick-start a digital 24/7 complainant cell ‘Call Sarzameen’ in its office to quickly address the forwarded complaints, he said.

Bukhari said every year Overseas Pakistanis were sending around $20 billion through proper channel, while over $15 billion were being sent through Hundi in the country.