Ministries fight over NICOP, MRP as doubts emerge over austerity plans

LONDON: Pakistan High Commission has confirmed that the government has not yet communicated to it that a decision has been made to transfer the important task of issuance of Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) to Pakistani expatriates from ministry of interior to ministry of foreign affairs.
Speaking to The News, a spokesman said that “no directions have been received in this regard” but this correspondent is aware that a decision was made in December 2013 and the completion date has been set as June 2015.
The problem for government is that genuine reservations are being expressed by the security agencies and government departments about the viability, sustainability and the need of these steps, being taken in the name of so-called austerity measures. This decision is incomprehensible, since the ministry of interior is successfully providing the Machine Readable Passport services to the Pakistani expatriates.
The government has decided that the NADRA will operate only in 3-4 countries for provision of National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) and the current level of services by NADRA in various countries will subsequently be withdrawn to save costs but the evidence suggests that it will create chaos and unbearable hardships for overseas Pakistanis, who are the backbone of Pakistani economy as they remit huge foreign exchange.
Pakistan High Commission accepts that it is currently facing difficulties in coping with the high demand of NICOP applications and there is protest within the community over the inordinate delay in provision of NICOP services. The problem has become so serious that Edinburgh Council has passed a resolution calling Pakistan High Commission to take steps to provide immediate relief to the British Pakistani Community, as they are facing a waiting period of over 4 months to get their NICOP applications processed, which subsequently affects their passport applications and their travel to Pakistan on the basis of NICOP, which entitles them to visa free entry into their homeland.
The government of Pakistan has also decided that after the economy cuts are implemented, the NADRA staff from London will be assigned the duty of conducting surgeries in the European countries for provision of NICOP services to thousands of Pakistani residents in Europe. Pakistan High Commission, London has no idea how the current NADRA staff in London will be able to conduct surgeries in European countries, owing to current human resource shortage and huge demand of NICOP in the UK. This is strange that the government is earning huge revenue from NICOP services, while it is restricting the provision of essential service, which will result in unbearable hardships for the Pakistani community members in the European countries.
This decision has further created a rift between two important government ministries i.e. ministry of interior and ministry of foreign affairs, as it is feared that shifting of passport functions from ministry of interior to ministry of foreign affairs and withdrawal of NADRA services in European countries will lead to compromises on the sensitive identity data of Pakistani nationals and provision of efficient and prompt essential services, for which the government earns huge revenue/foreign exchange.