The introduction of digital public infrastructure (DPI) – that’s the buzzword preferred by the EU, the UN, WEF, and Gates Foundation, as they push for digital ID and payments – has been making good progress in Pakistan.
And a blog post on the World Economic Forum (WEF) website praises this as a development “transforming lives” (namely, in a positive manner).
The post is authored by some of the usual suspects – representatives of the World Bank and the UN-based “Better Than Cash Alliance” and is especially focused on the fact Pakistan has so far issued digital ID cards to over 240 million citizens.
World Bank’s DPI technical adviser Tariq Malik and Better Than Cash Alliance’s Prerna Saxena write that Pakistan’s “digital transformation” has the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) at its core.
Various elements of the controversial DPI scheme are at this time “tested” in less developed countries around the world (referred to in the article as “a select group of nations”), and invariably, the benefits of DPI are advertised as helping, in particular, (financially) underprivileged communities.
The take on what is currently going on in Pakistan is no different: NANDRA’s Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) integrates digital ID with opening bank accounts, getting a driver’s license, social welfare, etc.
What an opponent may see as dangerous (privacy, but also security-wise) centralization of people’s identities and activities, opening up enormous possibilities for mass surveillance – is “seamless identity authentication for every citizen” as far as the WEF blog post authors are concerned.
Here’s an interesting piece of information: “Within four years of launching the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) – a social protection initiative to alleviate poverty – CNIC issuance to adults increased by 72%,” the article says.
And during Covid, it proved useful in managing lockdowns by transferring $75 to 12 million households (this was supposed to sustain them for three months.)
Drawing conclusions from Pakistan’s “success story,” the authors stress the need to ensure that regardless of who is in power, they remain committed to implementing DPI, and push for its adoption with “robust legal frameworks.” Last – and probably, really last, as far as fervent DPI proponents go – there’s a mention of “ethical principles.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s DPI project is next expected to produce a nationwide digital health records system, among several other initiatives.
