Pakistanis living abroad can use their foreign mobile numbers to create accounts on the National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) Pak ID app, the authority has clarified.
The clarification came after a Canadian citizen asked during a NADRA podcast how overseas Pakistanis could apply for a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) using a foreign mobile number.
NADRA spokesperson Syed Shabahat Ali said applicants did not need a Pakistani mobile number to register on the Pak ID app or apply for NICOP and other identity documents.
Instead, applicants can select their country of residence and enter a mobile number from that country, he said.
He said many overseas Pakistanis use the Pak ID app to apply for NICOP and other documents. However, some users face difficulties during registration because the system appears to offer only the option of entering a Pakistani mobile number.
According to NADRA, this happens when applicants select Pakistan as their “country of stay” during registration.
The system then asks for a Pakistani number because it sends a one-time password (OTP) to verify the account.
To avoid this problem, overseas Pakistanis should select the country where they actually live, NADRA said.
For example, a Pakistani living in Canada can select Canada as their country of stay and enter their Canadian mobile number.
They can then use that number to activate their Pak ID account and access services, including NICOP applications.
NADRA stressed that a mobile number is required to activate a digital identity on Pak ID, but it does not have to be a Pakistani number.