ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Pakistan will soon discontinue Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) and replace them with electronic passports (e-passports), said the officials.
According to the interior ministry, the issuance of MRPs would be discontinued within a month and, thereafter, only e-passports would be issued by the passport offices and Pakistan missions abroad.
However, MRPs already issued would remain valid until their respective dates of expiry.
Officials said the government was working to replace machine-readable passports with electronic passports, with the new system expected to be introduced within a month.
Pakistan moving towards e-passports
Pakistan is moving towards e-passports in line with rapid technological changes in global immigration systems. The electronic chip embedded in the new passports would make forgery impossible.
The existing machine-readable passport system needed to be upgraded in view of changing global immigration requirements as e-passport technology was being used worldwide and Pakistan is going to adopt the system for the same reason.
