Nearly 100,000 ID cards distributed in Balkh in 5 months

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): National Statistics Department officials in northern Balkh province say they issued 68,000 paper and more than 30,000 electronic identity cards to residents during the past five months.

Maulvi Noor Mohammad Wasiq, the department director, told Pajhwok Afghan News they received over two million afghanis in revenue from the issuance of the said number of ID cards. He said 188 employees, including 59 permanent and 88 contractual, worked in the department.

He said their three different offices in the province conducted biometrics of about 1000 people on a daily basis for the issuance of electronic ID cards.

Some residents of Balkh say they are satisfied with the Statistics Department services and believe electronic ID cards can help reduce crimes.

Hussain, a resident of Mazar-i-Sharif, told Pajhwok the ID card issuance process had become faster compared to the past and people could easily obtain their ID cards.

Another resident, Abdul Qadus, who had arrived in Mazar-i-Sharif to apply for electronic ID card, hailed the work of the relevant department, but called for speeding up the process.

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