Court puts ANF, NADRA on notice in CNIC blocking case

In separate case, SHC issues notices to home dept, IG on girl 'abduction'

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in response to a petition seeking the restoration of a citizen’s computerised national identity card (CNIC), despite having completed the sentence in a drug recovery case.

Petitioner Muhammad Safdar explained that he was sentenced to eight months of imprisonment in 2016 in a case filed by the ANF.

Upon completing the sentence, he received an appearance notice from the SHC in 2017.

The notice pertained to an appeal filed by the ANF in the SHC.

However, during the ANF appeal hearing, his NIC was blocked.

Despite the SHC rejecting ANF’s appeal in 2021, his identity card remains blocked.

“Traveling from Multan for the hearings, I face immense hardship due to the absence of my NIC, leading to my family experiencing severe financial distress,” he maintained.

“Moreover, my late father, a former government employee, has not received his dues.

Additionally, my five-year-old daughter has been expelled from school due to the unavailability of a B form,” he added.

The court asked the petitioner to clarify their desired outcome, considering that notices have been issued.

The judgment will be pronounced after hearing all parties involved.

The ANF and NADRA have been given until August 16 to provide their response.

In another case, the SHC issued notices to the Sindh Home Department, IG, and others regarding a petition seeking the recovery of Sana from Nawabshah, who married of her own choice.

A two-judge bench, comprising Justice Agha Faisal and Justice Abdul Mubeen Lakho, heard the petition.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Irfan Ali, stated that Sana recently married Hanif Khoso.

Following their marriage, they resided in the Korangi, Karachi.

However, a few weeks ago, they were abducted from Korangi.