KARACHI: On March 29, I went to the Lyari Chakiwara NADRA Executive Centre with my mother to get her smart card made and also to make changes to her date of birth given in her CNIC, which had been entered incorrectly. I had gone to the NADRA centre after having procured the necessary information from the NADRA helpline, where I was told that making a smart card and modifying the date of birth given on the CNIC can both be done at the same time after paying a fee of Rs2,500. However, my trip to the centre proved to be a nightmare.
The supervisor at the Lyari centre was absent and the staff was unaware of the rules and procedures behind making a NADRA smart card. The staff initially said that making a smart card and modification of the date of birth cannot be done at the same time. We were told that my mother will first have to get a new CNIC made with the correct date of birth and after one month, we can apply to get a smart card made. In the end, I was incorrectly guided. I was given the form of “Amendment in smart card” and charged Rs1,000 as fee for it. The staff also took my mother’s original CNIC. After wasting the entire day, when I reached home, I got an SMS from NADRA that stated: “Your form tracking ID No: 103461058916 has been rejected. Contact applied centre.” On contacting the helpline, I was informed that the staff at the centre where I had applied for the smart card was unaware about NADRA rules and that I had submitted the wrong form. I appeal to the NADRA chairman to take serious notice of this negligence by the NADRA staff and help my mother procure a smart card that gives her correct date of birth.
Imran Khan Sial
Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2013.
