FIA gets remand of NADRA officials issuing NICs to foreigners

KARACHI:

A local court remanded on Saturday seven accused including National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) officials into police custody for allegedly issuing Pakistani National Identity Cards to foreigners in exchange of bribe.

The East judicial Magistrate was hearing the case at Karachi City Court. At the outset of the hearing, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) presented the accused NADRA officials and co-accused others before the court.

The investigation officer informed the court that the accused issued Pakistani NICs to Burmese, Afghan and Iranian nationals. He apprised that the FIA's Anti-human Trafficking Cell arrested the accused under the course of action over NADRA Technical Director General Kashif Nazeer.

At this, the court remanded the accused into FIA's custody for three days. According to FIA, the accused include the NADRA officials, Ashfaq Khan, Khayal Khan, Muhammad Ibrahim and Abdul Wahab, and two others Muhammad Rasool and Akhter Muhammad.

FIA Sindh Zone-1 Director Amir Farooqui had told the media on Thursday that FIA, some NADRA officers were recruited by enemy agencies for issuance of fake NICs to terrorists.

An Indian national Imran Ali was issued a fake CNIC who was also involved in Safoora Goth terror incident, he added.

He added that about three to four million fake NICs had been issued to foreign nationals.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2021.