Magic sheet of paper

How come pretty much everyone I know has had less than ideal experiences with consulate offices of India and Pakistan? It's always the same thing: inefficient queuing, confusing instructions, unnecessary delays, unfriendly and unhelpful staff, etc. I had to endure some of this when getting a Pakistan visa last year for my short trip to Karachi (photos). It seems as though they try really hard to recreate a third world atmosphere in the consulate office.

The outsourcing of India visa processing in the US (at least the front end portion) seems to have addressed the issue altogether: first world customer service for a third world visa. Excellent!

I had to give the Pakistan consulate a chance to provide a similar painless experience. I decided to apply for a Pakistani national ID card so I would not need a visa when traveling there and would also serve as official identification while in the country. It is probably not a good idea now days to flash a US passport too often while visiting Pakistan.

There are no less than 4 different ID cards: NIC (National ID Card), CNIC (Computerized National ID Card), NICOP (National ID Card for Overseas Pakistanis), and the POC (Pakistan Origin Card). [I think there is a fifth older one as well]. I went through various official Pakistan websites (which were not always consistent) to figure out which card I should get. The POC is meant for foreign citizens who originate from Pakistan (valid 7 years, $100). The NICOP is required for all Pakistani citizens living abroad, including those that are dual-nationals, i.e. citizens of Pakistan and another country (valid 10 years, $15). I opted for the NICOP, as it was valid for 10 years, was much cheaper, and would allow me to renew my Pakistani passport if I ever wished to do so.

A few notes about the application process:

• The form was mostly in English, except for a mandatory Urdu section (doh!) which was just a repeat of all the names on the application. Thankfully my friend Akbar came to the rescue.
• Self-imprinted left thumb print - it was strange to fingerprint myself on an government application without an official witnessing or notarizing
• Lots of supporting materials - birth certificate, copies of US and old Pakistani passport, parents' ID cards (luckily my mom had one), and the "magic sheet of paper"
• Magic sheet of paper - When I was in Dallas visiting family last month, I randomly came across a cryptic 25-year old sheet of paper in my parents' files, entirely in Urdu, that contained old ID card numbers for my parents and the children. Well, it turns out that sheet of paper is required in order to get a NICOP card, as it contains my old ID number. Friends recently told me that they couldn't get the card without that specific sheet of paper, and the consulate has no way to retrieve that paper otherwise. I still have no idea what the paper is for. Very fortunate that I came across it.

Let's see if I get the ID card before my next trip to Pakistan (if at all). Since the application has to go to Pakistan for processing, the website says it takes 3-4 months to get the card.