According to a spokeswoman for the Punjab administration, the province has chosen to digitise the nikkah registration system in order to eradicate false marriage certificates and discourage registration based on phoney witnesses.
Marriage registers will be phased away across the province under the new computerised registration system, and a tablet will be introduced in their place, which will be linked to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
The tabs will be taught to all marriage registrars and registered imams.
From the marriage registrar’s SIM, the marriage fee will be credited to the appropriate local government department account. The witnesses’ ID cards and thumbprints will also be scanned. The witnesses’ evidence will be admissible only if the ID card scans and thumbprints match.
At the time of the nikkah, the registrar will also take a photo of the groom and send it to Nadra. If the groom is a fugitive or has been named in a criminal case, he will be caught right away because the tab will generate an image that is linked to Nadra’s database.
