Rollout of Electronic ID Cards to Be Kicked Off ‘Next Week’

The electronic National Identity Card (e-NIC) rollout will be officially kicked off next week, an official said Wednesday.

“There is a strong commitment by President [Ghani] and Chief Executive [Abdullah] to launch the distribution of electronic ID-Cards. The President urged us to start the process as soon as possible, so we scheduled next week to start the process,” the Population Registration Directorate (PRD) Spokesman, Rohullah Ahmadzai, said.

The long-debated matter has delayed for a long time; therefore, there are still doubts about the opening of the process.

“I am asking the government, especially the Ministry of Interior and the Population Registration Directorate, to start this process as soon as possible,” Member of the Lower House Internal Security Committee, Ghulam Sakhi Mushwani, said.

The issuing of the electronic identity cards is deemed as a major step towards holding transparent and fair elections in the country.

According to the Ministry of Interior, more than 400 ID-Cards will be distributed to the citizens in every hour once the process launched and the number will hit 80,000 in a day.

The ministry estimates that more than 16 million Afghans will receive ID-Cards in one year.

The statistics suggest that the distribution of ID-Cards for the 30 million population of Afghanistan will cost $120 million.