NADRA cancels 4.2m ID cards in data clean-up drive

ISLAMABAD:

The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has undertaken a major initiative aimed at ensuring the complete accuracy and further strengthening of Pakistan's national identity system after completing the reconciliation of records between the civil registration system and the national citizen database.

As part of the exercise, identity cards belonging to individuals recorded as deceased in the civil registration system have been cancelled. Officials said the step was taken after authorities found that many deaths registered with provincial institutions had not been reflected in Nadra's database.

Under the Nadra Ordinance and Identity Card Rules, a total of 4.2 million identity cards have been cancelled. The authority said the discrepancy occurred because relatives had reported deaths to provincial civil registration bodies but did not update the records with Nadra.

According to the authority, around 4.2 million identity cards remained active despite the deaths being recorded in the civil registration system, a situation that can lead to inconsistencies in national statistics and distort official demographic data.

Following recent facilitation measures introduced by Nadra, relatives of nearly three million deceased individuals have already moved to cancel identity cards, helping authorities align civil registration records with the national citizen database.