NADRA lifts condition of handing over old CNICs for renewal of cards

The notification has been issued to facilitate voters in the electoral process

KARACHI: The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has decided to lift the condition of submitting the old Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) when applying for its renewal.

A notification, issued on Saturday, said this amendment was aimed at providing a "fair chance to all citizens to exercise their right to vote".

NADRA Spokesperson Faik Ali Chachar told The Express Tribune that the notification shall remain in effect till the day of the election.



"Under this clause, all Data Entry Acquisition Units (DAUs) shall not demand applicants to surrender their old CNIC and shall be allowed to vote on it too." According to the notification, the old CNIC shall only be surrendered once the new CNIC has been delivered.

In response to the question whether or not applicants shall be allowed to vote on an expired document, Chachar confirmed that "applicants shall have the right to cast vote on an expired CNIC too".

The spokesperson added that ahead of polls, NADRA wants to facilitate all citizens to vote.

In January, the interior ministry informed the Senate that the country’s top database authority detected more than 58,000 fake or suspicious national identity cards, which have now been “temporarily digitally impounded in NADRA’s database”.