Afghanistan: Taliban announces reopening of National Identity Card centres from Oct 13

A week after the council of ministers resumed the issuance of passports, the Taliban led government has announced to reopen the offices related to the issuance of the national identity cards from October 13, Wednesday. According to a report by TOLO News, the National Statistics and Information Authority has also confirmed the recent announcement and said that electronic National Identity Card (e-NIC) centres would reopen across Afghanistan from Wednesday. Notably, the major development came a week after the interim government of Afghanistan announced to resume the distribution of passport services. The ID and passport services were discontinued soon after the extremist group seized the national capital, Kabul.

Quoting NSIA officials, TOLO News said around 30,000 national identity cards that were already printed, would be distributed among Afghan nationals in the first phase. Yousuf Ahadi, in charge of information technology at the NSIA, said, "30,000 identity cards have been printed and are ready to be distributed. The process will begin on Wednesday." The media report said that the people who came to enquire about the identity cards, said they need the ID cards for numerous reasons including foreign travel. While speaking to TOLO News, a Kabul resident said that he wants to travel abroad to get medical attention for a family member.

"We seriously need ID cards. Everyone needs to take their patients abroad. Having ID cards is necessary for getting a passport," said Shabir Ahmad, a resident of the national capital.

Taliban allows female employees to work in the passport department

Meanwhile, Hasamudin, a resident, highlighted the importance of identification cards while applying for passports. "Before the reopening of the passport department, it was necessary that ID centres be opened. People have many problems that are related to the opening of the ID card centre, "Hasamudin said. As per NSIA, the country has 104 identification card facilities across the country, of which at least 25 are in the national capital. It is worth noting that the all-men Taliban government had allowed female employees to work for the passport department.

However, the experts familiar with the developments called the step "crucial to invoke stringent Islamic laws". They noted that the female employee would only entertain the requests of women. It is worth mentioning that a series of incidents unfolded after the Taliban captured the national capital, Kabul, on 15 August, including a bomb attack. Since the Taliban's conquest, lakhs of desperate Afghan nationals have fled the war-torn country and taken asylum in different countries. Lakhs of people are still waiting for their turn to reach other countries. Despite facing a barrage of criticism and pressure from international communities, the terror organisation stood staunchly against the requests and warnings. 

(With inputs from ANI)

Image: ANI/Pixabay