Perplexing protocols: Death certificate procedure termed complicated

Where the demise of a loved one brings a shared feeling of grief for any family, immediate kin dealing with the death of a family head face added distress, as complications in obtaining a death certificate hamper their financial and social prospects.

Despite the introduction of the local bodies system, the inability of the state authorities to streamline the death certificate registration procedure has obstructed the issuance of the document to countless surviving families, who have to undergo a complex process of visiting multiple district offices including the union council and the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) and have to wait months on end before finally obtaining the certificate, which is mandatory for the widow of a deceased to receive pension and their children to apply for the computerised national identity card (CNIC).

Amina Begum, a resident of New Karachi, lost her husband, a government employee, just a few months ago and she had to go through such an ordeal.

“After completing my waiting period [iddat], when I visited my late husband’s department for pension, I was asked to submit his death certificate.

At that point I was completely unaware of the process of registration and had to go through a lot of trouble before I could finally obtain the certificate,” shared Amina.

“After visiting multiple departments and paying thousands of rupees as registration fee, I had to wait six months before receiving my due pension,” she added.

Similarly, Faria, the daughter of another late government employee, shared her struggle to obtain her identity card after her father passed away.

“In order to obtain mandatory documents like the CNIC, I had to submit my father’s death certificate.

However, the process of registering for the certificate is extremely cumbersome,” lamented Faria.

It is the pervasiveness of such complexities in the death certificate registration process which hinder the flow of cash transfers to beneficiaries of social safety net projects like the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

“The type of documentation required for registering for BISP varies according to the marital status of ever married women.

Most of the women who visit do not have the relevant documentation, like the death certificate of their husband, available with them and so they have to face a delay in receiving their cash transfers,” asserted an official from BISP.

The official’s revelations were confirmed by Fauzia, a beneficiary of BISP who faced much difficulty in receiving her due cash check after the demise of her husband.

“I belong to a very poor family.

When I registered for the BISP, I was told to bring my husband’s death certificate.

Since I am not well-educated, I was clueless about the process and had to take help from an acquaintance in applying for the complicated procedure,” bemoaned Fauzia, who went on to request the government to upgrade the death certificate registration system so that all documentation can be submitted and collected at a single window and BISP beneficiaries can receive their much needed cash transfers on time.

Speaking to the Express Tribune on the matter, Farooqui, Secretary of a Union Committee in Karachi said, “the local union council issues birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates via an online system and charges anywhere between Rs300 and Rs500 as registration fee.

The allegations of officials charging extra money are entirely baseless.”