With the distribution of new electronic ID cards starting next month, officials emphasized Tuesday that the new cards will reduce forgery.
In an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, head of the Electronic ID Cards Distribution Department of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, Masoom Farhad, stressed that the cards would be difficult for outsiders to duplicate.
"These cards are made of polycarbonate and will be only recognizable by MoI machines, which prevents the neighboring countries from duplicating them," Farhad said, adding that fingerprints, iris scans, number of family members, income data and other necessary information will be encoded on the cards.
According to Farhad, the distribution of electronic ID cards will provide employment opportunities for more than 5,000 people.
He added that it will take at least seven years to distribute ID cards to all the residents of the country, while 80% of Afghans will have their cards in three years.
"We need seven years to distribute electronic ID cards to all the residents of the country, but if the government provides us more resources, we could accomplish the mission possibly in five years," he added.
The whole process, including its technical aspects, will cost $222 million, out of which $101 million will be paid by the Afghan Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, and the remaining $121 million will be covered by the MoI.