Afghanistan's minister of the interior has said that electronic ID cards will be issued to citizens this year, after various delays hit the project.While giving a presentation on the ministry's plans, Noor-ul-Haq Ulomi said the ministry had recruited employees for the issuing. Meanwhile, a data entry and storage system has been developed that will be launched at the same time.He said that the ID cards would also be used to issue driving licenses and for voting during elections.Speaking at debates organised by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in March, Abdul Moqim Afghan, head of provincial information and culture department, said that the current ID card system was open to abuse, since people could easily obtain multiple identity documents and voting cards in different names."Fraud is easy with the current identity cards," he said. "However, they [fraudsters] cannot obtain the new electronic identity cards. The identities of all voters will be known."There have been plans to introduce the biometric cards carrying the fingerprints and digital photos of the bearer since 2009. However, bureaucracy , logistics and fears of ethnic tensions have held the project back.According to the IWPR, many speakers at its debates expressed frustration at the continuing delays to issuing the new cards, especially with a parliamentary election due this year.

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