NADRA developing new SOP to ‘block' CNICs

Rehman Malik directs Islamabad police to submit report on Nawab Leghari’s abduction

ISLAMABAD: The government’s database regulatory body is working on a new ‘procedure’ to ensure that no identity card is blocked unless there is solid evidence that the person is a non-national.

National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Chairman Usman Mobin, briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control, said the authority is working on a new standard operating procedure (SOP) in order to prevent blockage of Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) without solid proof.

He informed the panel that NADRA has so far blocked 375,000 CNICs of suspected persons from all provinces.



Senator Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini said 56 per cent of Baloch population in Balochistan is unregistered due to which a large part of them is not included in the ongoing headcount. He told the committee that over 4.0 million foreign nationals in Balochistan have become part of the system and some political parties are also supporting them. “Some of the MPAs and MNAs are also involved in attesting blank CNIC forms,” he said.

Upon this, Senator Rehman Malik said fake verification should be stopped. If law enforcement agencies can arrest government officials for wrong verification then action should also be taken against those MNAs and MPAs who are involved in such crime.

Malik said blockage of CNICs is becoming a serious issue. Unfortunately NADRA is doing nothing to unblock the CNICs of those original Pakistanis who are tagged as ‘suspected.’



He directed the NADRA chairman to look into the matter and CNICs of genuine Pakistanis should be unblocked immediately. He said that no one should be victimised for his/her similarities with Afghans or people of other nationalities.

The committee directed the NADRA chairman to provide province-wise details about blocked CNICs to the committee during the next meeting.

Malik and members of the committee were annoyed over the closure of NADRA offices in different parts of the country, particularly in far-flung areas, where people have to travel miles to reach a NADRA office.



The meeting also discussed amendment in ‘The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2017’ and ‘The Pakistan Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2017’ introduced by Senator Mohammad Azam Khan Swati.

Malik while commenting on the proposed ‘The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2017’ said no shelter should be provided to any criminal on gender basis or for any other reason.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Islamabad Sajid Kiyani stated there is no effective legislation against those who get false FIRs registered. He said during 2016, a total of 7,034 FIRs were registered. The SSP stated, “If we do not register FIRs then it is registered through court.”

Malik said those policemen who lodge fake FIRs must be made accountable through the law.

Malik also took serious notice of abduction of Nawab Ali Laghari and directed the Islamabad police to submit a detailed report to the committee within a week.



The committee also took notice of missing Lt Col (retd) Mohammad Habib who went missing from Nepal-India border while visiting Nepal for a job interview.

Malik directed Federal Investigation Agency to submit a comprehensive report to the committee on the issue in the next meeting.

The committee strongly condemned the suicide bomb blast in Parachinar besides expressing concerns over the tragic incident of Sargodha in which a fake spiritual leader killed his 20 followers.

Malik said there is no legislation in the country to deal with fake spiritual leaders. The committee will propose legislation in this regard so that such criminal elements could be countered and their malicious activities monitored and stopped, he added.