Your digital identity, as essential as your national ID card
You rarely leave home without your national identity card. It's your gateway to the physical world—an essential for opening bank accounts, registering a SIM card, or even filing taxes. It's the bedrock of trust in face-to-face transactions. But what about the digital world? Why shouldn't our online interactions have an equally robust and reliable identity system?
Pakistan currently lacks a unified digital ID framework, leaving individuals to navigate a fragmented web of credentials for every service they use. Enter Pehchan—our ambitious initiative to bring Pakistan's identity infrastructure into the digital era, built on the powerful foundation of Keycloak.
In today's digital-first world, proving who you are online is as critical as physical identification. Yet, the process is often redundant, cumbersome, and insecure. Imagine if, instead of separate logins for each government or private service, you had a single, secure digital identity—something that's as indispensable online as your national ID card is offline.
This is not a novel idea. Countries like the UK and Singapore have already paved the way with exemplary national digital ID systems. Learning from their experiences, Pehchan seeks to establish a similar framework tailored to Pakistan's unique challenges and opportunities.
Designed to simplify access to public services, GOV.UK Verify allows UK citizens to verify their identity online for services ranging from tax filing to passport applications. Its federated model emphasizes user choice and privacy, allowing individuals to select a certified provider to handle their data securely.
A cornerstone of Singapore's Smart Nation initiative, Singpass integrates over 2,000 services, including banking, healthcare, and even private sector applications. It empowers users with control over their data through features like QR-code-based logins and granular consent settings, setting a gold standard for seamless, privacy-preserving digital identity systems.
A single digital identity that works across government and private services, eliminating the need for multiple credentials.
Citizens retain full control over their data, choosing when, how, and with whom to share it.
Built on modern encryption technologies and privacy-preserving practices, Pehchan ensures that your personal data stays secure.
You sign up using your national identity card details, verified through a secure backend.
Your Pehchan ID becomes your key to services like banking, healthcare, and education.
Advanced techniques like zero-knowledge proofs allow you to prove attributes without disclosing unnecessary details.
Pehchan isn't just a government initiative—it's a collaborative effort open to developers, organizations, and citizens alike. Here's how you can get involved:
We envision Pehchan as an important catalyst of Pakistan's digital transformation. However, this journey requires more than technology—it demands collaboration, trust, and a shared commitment to innovation. Together, we can build a system that is inclusive, secure, and adaptable to the needs of every Pakistani.
Let's shape the future of our country, one digital identity at a time.