Afghan identity card

The Afghan Tazkira (Pashto: تذکره) is an official national identity document issued to every national and citizen of Afghanistan, including a member of the Afghan diaspora around the world. The document is used to obtain an electronic Afghan identity card or e-Tazkira, which is valid for up to 10 years and required for many things such as employment, registering in school, operating a business, buying or renting a house, opening a bank account, sending or receiving money through Western Union, purchasing a SIM card, obtaining a passport, booking airline tickets, staying in hotels, etc. The documents serve as proof of identity and residency but more importantly Afghan nationality. Both the paper Tazkira and e-Tazkira are issued by the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA), which has offices in all provinces of Afghanistan.

The Afghan Tazkira, which is older than 100 years, has been modernized in recent years. The e-Tazkira campaign was officially launched in Kabul in May of 2018 when then-President Ashraf Ghani and First Lady Rula Ghani received their smart cards. Distribution of the modern Tazkiras later began in other parts of Afghanistan. The e-Tazkira complies with international standards for identity documents. As of August 2023, over ten million people of Afghanistan have obtained their Tazkiras. This includes the Afghans that are temporarily residing in Iran and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Afghans temporarily residing in Pakistan are issued special documents by Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.