ISLAMABAD: The Government of Pakistan has decided to restore the National Database Registration Authority’s (NADRA) facility in the Consulate General of Pakistan Toronto for the convenience of compatriots seeking its services. This was disclosed during an online public forum-cum-ekatchehry organized by the Pakistan High Commission in Canada and hosted by Consul General of Pakistan Toronto, said a news release received on Thursday. The event was attended by Chargé d’affaires for Pakistan in Canada Shahbaz Malik, Consul General of Pakistan Montreal Ishtiak Ahmed Akil, Deputy Consul General of Pakistan Vancouver Ghulam Hussain and members of the Pakistani diaspora in Canada. Replying to various questions of the community, Consul General of Pakistan Toronto, Abdul Hameed who moderated the event, said the decision to re-establish the NADRA facility in Toronto had been taken in view of difficulties being faced by community members in accessing NADRA services, including the new National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP), passports and uploading their fingerprints for these documents from remote locations. Charged’affaires for Pakistan in Canada Shahbaz Malik said Pakistan High Commission and its consulates in Canada were at the disposal of the diaspora. He said the mission officials were always accessible in person as well as through phone, email, or the social media accounts being operated by the mission and its consulates to engage with the community in real-time. He said the government had started providing visa and passport services online, but for any other services, the members of the diaspora were welcomed to visit the High Commission and its Consulates. Consul General of Pakistan Montreal Ishtiak Ahmed Akil said they were all set to operate a dedicated facilitation centre in the Consulate to provide the community members technical help and facilitation in completing their online applications and uploading documents on the NADRA system. To a question, Deputy Consul General of Pakistan Vancouver Ghulam Hussain said the Consulate had conveyed to the NADRA higher-ups the concerns of Pakistani expatriates living in western Canada in traveling long distances to visit the Consulate in Vancouver just because accessing the NADRA system from home did not help sometimes due to the limited number of attempts allowed for uploading the documents and fingerprints for NICOPs and other services.