Identity crisis: More than one CNIC issued under same name, number
NADRA asking for a cancellation fee of Rs10,000.
KARACHI:
It was not till the young woman wanted to open a bank account that she found out there was another person living by the same name, and identity, in the country.
The girl’s mother told The Express Tribune that her daughter had applied for work at the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), but when she contacted a local bank for opening an account as required by the BISP, the bank refused. The management told her that on the basis of the information they had received from the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra), there were two identical computersied national identity cards (CNICs) issued to her.
This is not an isolated case. Thousands of people across the country spend half their lives without finding out that they possess an identity card (CNIC) that is owned by another person as well. Too often it is a potential employer or a bank manager who reveals this information to them.
When these persons approach NADRA so that one of the CNICs issued in their names can be cancelled, the authority asks for a fine of Rs10,000 per case, which seems too hefty an amount for something people feel is not their fault.
This was the case with the girl who was applying for a job at BISP. Since her CNIC issue was not worked out by NADRA, she missed out on her job opportunity. “She has been visiting the NADRA regional headquarters to get the problem solved but to no avail. They are demanding Rs10,000 and an affidavit that should carry an apology for holding two CNICs at the same time, which was not her fault in the first place,” the mother said.
NADRA Deputy Chairman Tariq Malik told The Express Tribune that there used to be around 80,000 such cases in the country. However, the authority has dealt with most of them and only 16,000 cases are left.
Double CNICs were processed and issued before NADRA was equipped with modern technology, which includes the biometric system and keeping fingerprints of the card holders.
Malik said that there are two categories under which people with two CNICs fall. In some cases a person has borrowed money and failed to follow the terms and conditions agreed to. As a result, they were declared defaulters. These persons then apply for another CNIC.
The other category consists of people who apply for a CNIC and then fail to collect it on time. At a later stage, they file another application and so two CNICs are issued in their name. “This only happened before the authority got the biometric system,” explained Malik.
The people who have intentionally obtained another CNIC fall under the category of crime and as per the law, they could be sentenced for up to three years in jail and fined up to Rs100,000. The fee for cancellation of an extra CNIC is Rs10,000 but those who are confirmed as victims of negligence are asked to appear before a scrutiny committee and are fined just Rs1,000 to cancel one of the CNICs, the deputy chairman informed.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2011.
It was not till the young woman wanted to open a bank account that she found out there was another person living by the same name, and identity, in the country.
The girl’s mother told The Express Tribune that her daughter had applied for work at the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), but when she contacted a local bank for opening an account as required by the BISP, the bank refused. The management told her that on the basis of the information they had received from the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra), there were two identical computersied national identity cards (CNICs) issued to her.
This is not an isolated case. Thousands of people across the country spend half their lives without finding out that they possess an identity card (CNIC) that is owned by another person as well. Too often it is a potential employer or a bank manager who reveals this information to them.
When these persons approach NADRA so that one of the CNICs issued in their names can be cancelled, the authority asks for a fine of Rs10,000 per case, which seems too hefty an amount for something people feel is not their fault.
This was the case with the girl who was applying for a job at BISP. Since her CNIC issue was not worked out by NADRA, she missed out on her job opportunity. “She has been visiting the NADRA regional headquarters to get the problem solved but to no avail. They are demanding Rs10,000 and an affidavit that should carry an apology for holding two CNICs at the same time, which was not her fault in the first place,” the mother said.
NADRA Deputy Chairman Tariq Malik told The Express Tribune that there used to be around 80,000 such cases in the country. However, the authority has dealt with most of them and only 16,000 cases are left.
Double CNICs were processed and issued before NADRA was equipped with modern technology, which includes the biometric system and keeping fingerprints of the card holders.
Malik said that there are two categories under which people with two CNICs fall. In some cases a person has borrowed money and failed to follow the terms and conditions agreed to. As a result, they were declared defaulters. These persons then apply for another CNIC.
The other category consists of people who apply for a CNIC and then fail to collect it on time. At a later stage, they file another application and so two CNICs are issued in their name. “This only happened before the authority got the biometric system,” explained Malik.
The people who have intentionally obtained another CNIC fall under the category of crime and as per the law, they could be sentenced for up to three years in jail and fined up to Rs100,000. The fee for cancellation of an extra CNIC is Rs10,000 but those who are confirmed as victims of negligence are asked to appear before a scrutiny committee and are fined just Rs1,000 to cancel one of the CNICs, the deputy chairman informed.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2011.