Pakistan launches the new E-Passport for its citizens. The announcement was made on 30 March during the inauguration ceremony by PM Imran Khan. Addressing the launching ceremony in Islamabad, Khan said that e-passport carries various forms of security checks, adding that such extension of benefits to overseas Pakistanis will ultimately benefit the country.
An electronic chip would be used in the new biometric passport. Almost 29 latest new security features have been added to the E-Passport according to the interior minister of Pakistan Sheikh Rashid. He also added that it would be the biggest up-gradation of Pakistani travel documents since 2004.
The e-passport fees have not been announced yet. It might well be a bit higher than the normal ordinary passport.
The e-passport is known by many names such as the biometric passport, e-passport, ePassport, or digital passport. This is a traditional passport that has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip that contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of the passport holder. An e-passport has a contactless (NFC) chip on it which means that those passports can be read electronically. The currently standardized biometrics used for this type of identification system are facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, and iris recognition.
Pakistan’s new e-passport related news has been taken very positively and as news of happiness among Pakistanis. This will indeed create a new milestone for having the nation’s most important international document modernized.
This is the second time that Pakistan is making immense changes to its passport system. First time in 2004 when it introduced its first computerized passport. The government and the ministry have not yet decided how much will the new e-passport cost and what astonishing features will be brought into it.
Passports are standardized by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization, part of the UN), countries have a choice as to which part of this standard they implement. According to ICAO, the biometric chip is normally not mandatory in the passport. On the other hand, the machine-readable travel document (computerized passport) is now mandatory for all countries to have since 2016. The European Union however required its member states to use a chip on the passport since 2004.
The new e-passport will not be able to get any improvement in its ranking, but step by step many countries will admire it as the data reach will become easier with the new e-passport. In the light of the past experience of passport changes, the new e-passport will not be mandatory and straight away be implemented for all to apply for it. Instead, it will be made obligatory with the passage of time. Some also argue the government will allow the people to have had their previous passports expire and then apply for the new e-passport, a typical norm.