Passport crisis: Issuance of smart cards stopped

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday restrained the National Database and Regulation Authority (NADRA) till the third week of June from initiating the procurement process of 20 million Polycarbonate Smart ID cards.

The court also issued notices and sought reply in the matter from the Ministry of Interior, Director Procurement NADRA and private companies including Huawei, ZTE and Advanced Global Communication Networks Limited (AGCN).

A single-member bench of the IHC comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui issued these directives while hearing a petition filed by SCT group, one of the bidders alleging that the tender process was based on nepotism. Saad Rasool, the counsel for the petitioner apprised the bench that the respondents on March 7 through an advertisement floated a tender with regards to the procurement of two Smart Card Personalization Machines and 30million Polycarbonate based Smart ID Cards.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2013.