SAYED MANSOOR/NATO
Since March 2013, Afghan citizens have been able to apply for e-passports, which provide biometric data that can be used to identify the holder. The new system has made it harder for criminals and insurgents to travel.
Biometrics expert Maj. Nasir Ahmad explains the process: “Whenever a person comes to us, we ask them to put their thumb on the machine. The machine highlights people who have criminal records, what they were arrested for and on what date.”
The Afghan passport office needed modernizing. The old system was corrupt, with people being able to buy more than one passport. Those who turn up at this new office are warned by the management not to offer money to the staff.
“Fortunately, the new electronic computerized system is totally different from the previous hand-written system, because the new system can be read by computer in different international airports,” Col. Sayed Omar Saboor of the Afghanistan Central Passport department explained. “The entire process is done by computer, starting with the photo ID, fingerprints, lamination — all the specific steps of the process involve computers.”
Since the new passport system has been operating, a number of people have been arrested after showing up with fake identity cards. The next step is to computerize production of national identity cards.
“Every day we confront lots of fraudulent cases, arrest them and then hand them over to judicial authorities,” Saboor said.