ISLAMABAD: The newly appointed chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) informed a Senate panel that some Nadra staff and external actors have been involved in issuing fake Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) to non-citizens.
During his first appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, Lt Gen Munir Afsar stated, “Additionally, illegal residents succeed in becoming part of native family trees by offering bribes to the family members.”
Senator Mohsin Aziz chaired the Senate committee meeting and other participants included the caretaker Minister for Interior Sarfraz Bugti, Interior Secretary Aftab Akbar Durrani, Special Interior Secretary Nadeem Mehboob, DG Passport and Immigration Mustafa Jamal Kazi, and several other senators.
The Nadra chairman mentioned that Nadra has taken action against its employees, suspending around 84 officials for their involvement in illegal activities. However, he noted that employees often escape punishment due to the absence of laws regarding data privacy.
Afsar explained that non-nationals typically attempt to infiltrate Pakistani families through various means, including the use of old manual identity cards issued before the establishment of Nadra, identity cards of deceased individuals issued before 2004 (with unavailable biometric data), and the patronage of influential figures.
He reassured the committee that Nadra was continuously improving its verification process to issue CNICs to genuine citizens and prevent non-nationals from intruding into Pakistani families.
In a separate matter, DG Passport and Immigration Mustafa Jamal Kazi addressed delays in the passport issuance process for Mehsud tribesmen in Karachi. He explained that the delay was due to the fact that individuals belonging to the Mehsud tribe were obtaining their passports in Karachi, while the rules required citizens to acquire their first passports in their respective districts.
Illegal Sims
Additionally, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime Circle conducted a joint raid on a franchise that was illegally selling activated SIM cards to Afghan nationals for up to Rs 3,000 per SIM. The franchise, operated by an Afghan national on Kohat Road in Peshawar, was issuing SIMs against Afghan passports. The raid resulted in the seizure of laptops and mobile phones containing scanned passport data, as well as the arrest of five individuals involved in the illegal SIM card operation. The FIA is investigating the matter further.
