Pricey identity: ID card fee hike challenged

Petitioner urges court to ask NADRA to explain the formula for hiking fee

PESHAWAR: Days after the national identity database regulator revised the fees of identity cards, it was challenged before the high court in Peshawar.

Senior lawyer Muhammad Khurshid on Friday filed a writ petition before the Peshawar High Court (PHC), challenging the upwards revision of fees.

Khurshid argued that the National Database Regulatory Authority (NADRA) had increased the fee for the Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) and Smart National Identity Cards (SNICs) in all categories by around 100 per cent, and 300 per cent for urgent processing. He argued that this was against basic human rights.

The lawyer told the court that normal fees of a CNIC had been increased from Rs200 to Rs400, the urgent fee was increased from Rs300 to Rs1,150 and fee for executive CNIC had been increased from Rs1,000 to Rs2,150. The normal smart card has been increased from Rs400 to Rs750 in normal processing, from Rs800 to Rs1,500  for urgent and from Rs1,600 to Rs2,500 for the executive.



He urged the court to declare the hike as null and void in the interest of poor people of the country.

The petitioner further argued that the action has been taken ahead of the general elections when people would need to show valid identity cards to vote.

“Such a high increase in CNIC fee is against the basic human rights,” the petitioner claimed.

“The duty of the government and its institutions is to serve the public, not to put a financial burden on the poor masses.”

“NADRA is already a profitable organization,” the petitioner claimed. “Moreover it is a non-profit organisation, which does not operate to earn a profit but to provide basic services to the public.”

The petitioner has asked the court to the direct NADRA officials to explain why the prices had been revised and under what formula had they determined the increase in fees for the identity cards.

As interim relief, the lawyer asked the court that, until a final judgment of the court is announced in this petition, a stay should be issued over NADRA’s notification to provide relief to the general public.



Earlier, NADRA, while notifying the increase in prices, had explained that they were making a loss of Rs40 on the production of each card and that they were using extra money earned from NICOPs produced for overseas Pakistanis abroad to subsidise the cost of producing cards at home.

However, the cost of the NICOPs abroad had been determined per the cost of running and operating 14 centres across the world, additionally incurring costs at 26 foreign missions and maintaining high-availability of web-based technology infrastructure around the clock which allows people living overseas to apply for identity documents online.

Moreover, the regulator had argued that the cost had been rationalized in light of directives from the Supreme Court and the cost was then approved by the federal cabinet.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2018.