The Afghan refugees will require a valid Proof of Registration (PoR) card issued by NADRA to open bank accounts in Pakistan.
Islamabad (Pakistan Point News – 2nd March, 2019) The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed banks and development finance institutions of the country to open bank accounts of Afghan refugees.
The Afghan refugees will require a valid Proof of Registration (PoR) card issued by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to open bank accounts in Pakistan.
In a circular issued on Thursday, SBP said that for opening accounts of Afghan refugees, banks may accept their valid PoR Card issued by NADRA as identity document.
SBP said that NADRA had activated online verification system for PoR cards since February 26.
The Afghan refugees will be able to avail banking services in Pakistan with this step.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan, on February 25, had issued directives for the opening of bank accounts of the Afghan refugees, who are registered in the country.
In his tweet, the PM had said, “I have issued instructions today that Afghan refugees who are registered can open bank accounts and from now onwards they can participate in the formal economy of the country. This should have been done a long time ago.”
Pakistan is one of the largest refugee-hosting nations in the world, home to an estimated 2.4 million registered and undocumented people who have fled Afghanistan, some as far back as the Soviet invasion of 1979.
In his maiden visit to Karachi on September 18, 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced that Afghans and Bengalis living in the country for many decades would be issued National Identity Cards and passports, which would effectively make them formal citizens of Pakistan.
