ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday notified amendments to the National Identity Card Rules, 2002 and the Pakistan Origin Card Rules, 2002 to modernise the country’s identity document framework by legally embedding QR-based verification, strengthening authentication controls across digital services, expanding biometric recognition, and updating card formats for key citizen categories.

According to a handout by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), a core reform is the statutory introduction of the QR code — a scannable barcode containing horizontal and vertical lines, dots, and patterns — as a defined security and verification feature.

The rules now legally define QR codes as a secure, machine-readable, two-dimensional barcode capable of storing encoded information and converting it into usable identity verification data when scanned.

The amendments further authorise the use of a QR code or “any other technological feature,” in lieu of the current microchip, enabling Nadra to adopt evolving verification technologies without repeated rule amendments.

In operational terms, this establishes a robust legal basis for quick and secure verification of identity credentials in both offline and online environments. This will also enable all citizens to carry a similar card instead of the currently prevalent two types of national identity cards, one of which comes with a microchip and the other without.

This QR-enabled capability directly strengthens Pakistan’s Digital ID ecosystem and supports interoperability through the National Data Exchange Layer.

QR-based credentials allow rapid front-end validation of identity attributes in service delivery settings, while also enabling back-end systems to confirm authenticity and status through trusted exchanges. This is expected to improve speed, transparency and consistency of identity verification across government entities and regulated sectors, reduce manual handling, and lower the risk of fraud and impersonation.

The amendments also strengthen the enforcement effect of card suspension. The rules now clarify that where a card is suspended, all verification, authentication and related services linked to that card shall stand suspended forthwith.

This closes a key risk area by ensuring that once a card is suspended, it cannot continue to be used through digital verification channels or institutional authentication processes.

In addition, the biometric scope has been reinforced through explicit recognition of fingerprints and iris scans within the rules, reflecting a stronger and more modern multi-modal biometric foundation for identity assurance.

On citizen facilitation, the amendments introduce a major improvement for senior citizens. Where a resident or non-resident citizen has attained the age of sixty years, the rules now provide for the issuance of a card carrying a distinct senior citizen logo with lifetime validity. This significantly reduces renewal burden, improves convenience, and reflects a service-oriented approach for elderly citizens.

The amendments also introduce standardised identification for residents of Azad Jammu and Kashmir by requiring an inscription indicating “Resident of Azad Jammu and Kashmir”, thereby ensuring uniform geographic identification on the document.

The schedules have been comprehensively updated through the substitution of specimen formats for a wide range of document categories. Updated smart formats now cover resident citizens, overseas Pakistanis, child registration certificates, persons with disabilities, organ donors, combined categories, and AJK residents.

These updated formats visibly incorporate QR codes and enhanced security layouts, standardising a modern identity document architecture across categories.

Overall, these amendments strengthen the legal and technological foundations of Pakistan’s identity system by enabling secure QR-based verification, reinforcing the integrity of digital authentication services, improving biometric assurance, reducing fraud risk through immediate service suspension controls, and delivering clear facilitation measures such as lifetime validity for senior citizens.

They also advance readiness for integrated digital governance by supporting structured interoperability through the National Data Exchange Layer and a broader Digital ID ecosystem.