181,000 CNICs of Pashtuns unblocked

Afridi tells NA PTI is reversing past govt’s policies

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Shehryar Afridi said on Friday that the present government had cleared 181,000 blocked Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) of Pashtuns since coming to power.

Speaking in the National Assembly during the question hour, the minister said that a previous government had introduced a law which created hurdles in issuance of national identity cards to Pashtuns.

“Under this law, the record before the year 1979 was demanded from the Pashtun community and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) blocked the cards of persons who had facial features akin to Afghans,” he told the floor of the lower house.

155,000 fake CNICs seized in NADRA crackdown

Furthermore, Afridi said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had expedited the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) and formed committees of experts to achieve targets in this regard.

On the issue of Tahir Dawar, the policeman who was abducted and murdered, the Safron minister said Dawar was a martyr of Pakistan who played an exemplary role in efforts to restore peace in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He added that the joint investigation team (JIT) was constituted soon after the incident while the martyred cop’s family also met the prime minister.

Afridi said that the need of the hour was for all stakeholders to show sincerity with the country while urging opposition parties to desist from calling attention notice in the House on the matter.