NADRA distributing identities at camps

KARACHI: Survivors at relief camps can get a duplicate of their computerised national identity cards (CNIC) from the National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) mobile registration vans.

These vans and man-pack units are moving around the 1,710 camps around districts Sukkur, Multan, Mianwali, Peshawar and Karachi, said deputy-chairman NADRA Tariq Malik on Tuesday.

NADRA is also processing fresh CNICs free-of-charge and people applying from the flood-affected areas are being given a priority, he said, adding that one of the addresses on the CNIC forms must be of the flood-affected areas.

Explaining the process of a duplicate card, Malik said that it is the fundamental right of every Pakistani to apply for a reprint in case the card is lost. The process is the same now, except that flood survivors do not have to pay for the reprint. The mobile registration service is also there to make the process easier for them, he added.

At the time of application, the fingerprints of the person are captured. These will be verified individually before the duplicate is issued. No one will be able to apply for a reprint of someone else’s card.

“We are not bypassing any existing process for the flood survivors,” Malik clarified, adding, “We are just making the process more convenient for them.”

Thirty offices belonging to NADRA were badly affected by the floods while 12 offices were completely wiped out, he said, adding that 22 offices have started working again.

Applying for a duplicate CNIC is important as the government plans on sending cash for the rehabilitation of the survivors, Malik pointed out.

NADRA is also engaged in identifying the bodied of flood victims using digital finger printing technology. We have deployed around 50 teams to 50 locations from Badin to the Neelam Valley in Azad Jammu and Kashmir to manage this operation, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2010.