ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday underlined the need for utilisation of the latest technology to facilitate the public, expressing resolve that his government was fully committed to e-governance for improved performance and service delivery.
Addressing the launching ceremony of the Letter of Administration and Succession Certificates Initiative, the prime minister observed the information and technology sector had brought a revolution while also ensuring a hassle-free governance mechanism.
“The government is implementing e-governance to end pencil-pushing and red tape. For the first time, the land record is being computerised to facilitate public,” he said, adding that in Islamabad, the initiative is scheduled to be launched in August.
Under the Letter of Administration and Succession Certificates Act, legal heirs can get succession certificates from the National Database and Registration Authority within 15 days without approaching the courts, Radio Pakistan said.
The ceremony was attended by Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem, Minister for Interior Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, Nadra chief Muhammad Tariq Malik and officials of the Punjab government.
The initiative is part of the prime minister’s vision to facilitate the public in getting their rights sans obstacles. The approach is also being adopted by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces.
During his address, Imran observed that people often faced difficulties getting the job done on a daily basis but information technology had provided easy solutions to most problems.
He said that it was the job of the government to remove obscurities from the lives of people and serve them since it functioned on their tax money. On the other hand, the system decayed when people were made to serve the government, he added.
The prime minister also referred to the introduction of in-house developed software in the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre digitising the operations.
He opined that with the adoption of the latest technology, pilferage and corrupt practices could also be prevented.
The prime minister said that they expected Nadra to facilitate Pakistan nationals living abroad as the government wanted to enable them to take part in the general elections through a secure voting procedure.
He said about 9 million expatriates were an asset of the country as they had been serving the motherland by sending back hard-earned money in the form of remittances.
The prime minister further said that the introduction of electronic voting machines will eliminate most electoral problems. In the past, save the 1970 elections, opposition parties had raised objections over the results, he said.
The public will also trust the machines, he said, observing that former United States president Donald Trump had contested the election results but could not prove his claims due to the use of modern technology.
The prime minister also lauded the efforts of the law minister and Nadra chairman for the successful launch of the initiative.
Naseem, on the occasion, said that the initiative would benefit about 120 million population of Punjab as applicants would get the required documents within 15 days.
He said shortly after the introduction of this system in Islamabad, the authorities received 350 applications and out of which 317 applicants had been issued the required documents.
He expressed confidence that the initiative will also reduce the load of suits in the courts by 25 to 30 percent.
Naseem said that they would expand the system to facilitates the expatriates living in the US, United Kingdom and the Middle East.
He said it was made possible due to the guidance of the prime minister.
