Karachi, October 21, 2024 – In response to the persistent struggles faced by millions of senior citizens across Pakistan, the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) has called upon the government to urgently replace the existing biometric verification system with a more advanced face recognition technology.
President of KCCI, Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, emphasized the pressing need for this change, citing the daily hardships encountered by those over 60 years of age who frequently face biometric verification failures at various institutions.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, KCCI President Bilwani highlighted the plight of pensioners and other senior citizens who are disproportionately affected by the current biometric system. “A significant portion of the elderly population is subjected to unnecessary inconvenience because their fingerprints often fail to register on biometric devices,” KCCI President stated. He pointed out that, while younger individuals are increasingly benefitting from NADRA’s online services, senior citizens are being unfairly disadvantaged. “It is widely recognized that the fingerprints of the elderly do not easily appear on biometric machines, yet they are repeatedly asked to undergo this cumbersome process,” he added.
KCCI President Bilwani stressed that an immediate shift to face recognition technology would greatly alleviate these challenges and provide a dignified solution for the elderly. The KCCI president suggested that the face recognition system could initially be rolled out for senior citizens and later expanded to the broader population in a phased manner. This system, he proposed, could eventually be integrated with the national databases used by law enforcement agencies, enhancing public safety initiatives such as the Safe City projects.
“The government’s swift action in replacing biometric verification with face recognition technology will be in the national interest,” Bilwani asserted, noting that such a move would bring much-needed relief to millions of senior citizens across the country. He urged Prime Minister Sharif to take immediate action and address this growing issue, which continues to cause undue hardship to a vulnerable segment of the population.
By introducing face recognition technology, not only would senior citizens be spared the repeated visits to NADRA and other institutions, but the system would also contribute to more efficient public services, streamlining identification processes nationwide. Bilwani expressed optimism that the government would act decisively to implement this much-needed change, providing an equitable solution to the long-standing issue of biometric verification failures among the elderly.