NADRA reveals involvement of staff in issuance of fake CNICs to non-nationals

ISLAMABAD: The newly appointed chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) Lt Gen Munir Afsar informed a Senate panel on Wednesday that both NADRA staff and external elements played a role in the issuance of fake Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) to non-nationals.

According to Dawn.com, appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on Interior for the first time, Gen Munir Afsar, who chaired the meeting, discussed issues of illegal residents infiltrating family trees by bribing family members.

The committee, led by Senator Mohsin Aziz, included caretaker Minister for Interior Sarfraz Bugti, Interior Secretary Aftab Akbar Durrani, and other officials.

As per the reports, the NADRA chief revealed that action had been taken against the authority’s employees involved in illicit activities, with around 84 officials suspended. However, he highlighted that a lack of laws addressing data privacy hindered the punishment of employees.

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Meanwhile, Gen Afsar outlined various methods used by non-nationals to infiltrate Pakistani families, such as using credentials of Pakistani families, biometric verification of genuine Pakistani CNIC holders, exploiting old manual identity cards issued before NADRA’s establishment, and using CNICs of women without pictures issued before 2012.

The reports indicated that to address the challenges, NADRA is continuously enhancing its verification process to ensure the issuance of CNICs to genuine citizens and prevent intrusion by non-nationals.

During discussions on the challenges faced by Mehsud tribesmen in obtaining passports in Karachi, DG Passport and Immigration Mustafa Jamal Kazi clarified that there was no discrimination, but delays occurred as citizens were obtaining passports in Karachi against the rules stipulating that the first passport should be acquired in the respective district

Additionally, the Senate body learned from the additional director general of Pakistan Coast Guards that, despite budget constraints, the organisation successfully seized 19.25 tonnes of narcotics in the last year and prevented 2,555 migrants, including Pakistanis, Afghans, Iranians, and Nigerians, from illegally crossing the coastal area.

In a separate operation, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime Circle jointly raided a franchise selling activated SIMs illegally to Afghan nationals for up to Rs3,000 per SIM.

The franchise operated by an Afghan national in Peshawar was issuing SIMs against Afghan passports. The raid resulted in the seizure of laptops and mobile phones containing scanned passport data, and five individuals were arrested, with the FIA investigating the matter.