A Leap Forward Towards Making Things Easy for Overseas Pakistanis

At a ceremony conducted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the 14^th February, Mr. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, officially announced the “World Launch of the Automation of Power of Attorney (PoA),” for Overseas Pakistanis.

Members of the Meeting

The ceremony was attended by Dr. Muhammad Tariq Malik, Chairman NADRA, Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Syed Hussain Tari, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and others.

Foreign Minister’s Remarks

In his remarks on the occasion, the Foreign Minister termed the launch as the culmination of a significant initiative to assist Pakistanis living abroad. The Foreign Minister also expressed his gratitude to everyone who put up a lot of effort to make the project a success.

Automation for the attestation/legalization of power of attorney has long been a need of Overseas Pakistanis, and it will make it easier for those who have to travel to missions from distant locations and vast distances. By offering attestation services at the door, this automated solution will cut expenses and decrease inconvenience.

The automation of Power of Attorney was initially implemented as a test project at 10 Pakistan Missions’/Sub-Missions’ in the United States and the United Kingdom in November, 2021. Now, the entire global Pakistani Diaspora would have access to this service.

According to Bilawal, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the desired action was the result of a tremendous effort to assist Pakistanis who are living overseas. He also articulated his appreciation to everyone who put up great effort to make the endeavor a success.

The legalization of powers of attorney, according to the minister, has long been a demand of the Pakistani diaspora and would be advantageous for individuals who must travel far to the missions from different cities and distant areas. He also added that this automated system would minimize hassle and cut costs by offering attestation services right at the doorstep.

The event was attended by the head of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Muhammad Tariq Malik, as well as the minister of state for foreign affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, the parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, Syed Hussain Tariq, and the secretary for foreign affairs, Asad Majeed Khan.

Need for the Automation

The Chairman stated that in order to make the record accessible in courts, online video capability has also been provided. He said that we have created cutting-edge software for this reason. He claimed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked with him to overcome all legal barriers to this goal. Pakistanis living abroad can now apply for and get a PoA without leaving the comfort of their homes and without travelling a long distance to a Pakistan Foreign Mission.

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It is a quick and safe service that makes it easier for overseas Pakistanis to award a PoA to anyone living in Pakistan. An applicant will be granted access to the PoA Portal as part of the program to create an account by giving their email address and other information.

Benefits

As mentioned earlier as well, the initiative has been taken to create ease for the citizens living abroad. It is necessarily an issue for them to come all the way back to Pakistan for such documentation purposes. However, the automation will enable them to take care of the matters, without coming here. The travel beck to Pakistan consumes a lot of time, money, and energy which is of no use if being spent on a thing that can be done from the comfort of their own places. It will encourage them to take care of the legal matters as soon as possible without worrying about the hassles of the whole process.