Afghan president issues decree on launch of e-ID cards

Afghan Voice Agency(AVA), According to the decree dated 13 May, the experimental phase of the program should be launched within 90 days.

It has instructed ministries of interior and IT to let the Population Registration Department use their offices, vehicles and non-military equipment.

The financial and executive affairs of the department will be audited by international organizations, according to the decree.

A committee led by second vice president and Chief Executive will also be set up to address the problems and supervise the implementation of the program.

E-ID cards are expected to aid fairer and more transparent elections in future.

The multimillion project was planned as early as in 2012, but faced delays over disagreement over whether ethnicity and nationality should be included on the cards.

The experimental stage of the project is expected to cover 500,000 nationals over six months.