The fakery follies

The Interior Ministry is busy multi-tasking once again and is currently providing the nation with gems of light entertainment almost on a daily basis. Shortly after the death in a drone strike of the Taliban leader Mullah Mansoor, the ministry was in denial mode, contrary to the Taliban themselves who were quick to acknowledge that their leader had been killed. This being insufficient, a DNA sample was sought by the ministry to confirm Mansoor’s death. Meanwhile, assorted news outlets were collecting and presenting detailed itineraries for the late leader of the Taliban who, it transpires, was busy racking up the air miles on a Pakistan passport but under an assumed name. Further denial came from the ministry, a new Taliban leader was swiftly named and the circus moved on.

Having decided that denial was no longer a tenable position re the demise of Mullah Mansoor, the Interior Ministry instead turned its attention, and some carefully contrived outrage, at the apparent lapses in the system of registration and the issuance of Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC) by NADRA. The miraculous survival of Mullah Mansoor’s passport and CNIC provided a handy stick with which to beat NADRA whilst at the same time avoiding the question as to what he was doing in Pakistan anyway. NADRA has now been ordered to verify the CNICs of 25 million families in the next six months. There are so many loopholes in the system and corruption at every level that obtaining a CNIC appears to have presented few difficulties to Mullah Mansoor — and if he was able to get a false identity then so can countless others. One hopes that the ministry realises that it has set NADRA a gigantic task, with there being every possibility that law-abiding Pakistani citizens may end up being inconvenienced and harassed during this exercise. Every effort must be made to avoid this eventuality. The clock is ticking for NADRA — as well as the thousands who hold a CNIC fraudulently obtained. We will be watching with considerable interest.

up an inquiry would greatly harm the country, and particularly the ruling party itself.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2016.

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