By any other name: Admitting mistakes, Nadra conditionally allows amendment in religion column

Earlier, people wrongly listed as Muslim had no way to get the entry corrected.

ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has amended its blanket ban on changes of religion from Muslim to non-Muslim on Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), allowing a change under certain conditions.

Under the new policy, changes in religion from Muslim to non-Muslim are allowed if, through some mistake in data entry or form-filling, a person has been listed as Muslim despite having been born into another faith. NADRA still “strictly disallows” modification of religion for those who have converted from Islam to any other religion.

For cross-referencing, NADRA will accept applications from individuals whose father’s religion is listed as non-Muslim in NADRA records without asking for any other supporting documents. Any other applicants, such as those whose fathers did not have a CNIC or for whom NADRA lacks records, will be required to present proof before their applications are processed.

The change, though relatively minor, still provides relief to those who were given no recourse if their CNICs misstated their religions. The previous policy flatly said that requests for “change of religion from Islam to any other religion will not be entertained”.

NADRA reviewed the policy due to a rising number of requests from individuals seeking to change religions from Muslim to non-Muslim, with most citing that their religions were misstated.

According to NADRA, all such cases will be processed at headquarters in Islamabad due to the lack of an online clearance and handling mechanism.

Currently, CNIC’s of 456 applicants who had sought modification in their religions have been blocked by the authority, pending verification, said NADRA spokesperson Faik Ali Chachar.

The new policy — titled “Policy for Dealing Ahmadis” — also provides that requests from individuals listed as Muslim and whose father’s religion is also listed as Islam in NADRA records will not be entertained.

Further explaining this point, the policy says that “Muslim applicants [who] convert to Ahmadi due to marriage or other social issues fall under this category” and their requests will be rejected upon receipt.

Though the new policy could still be considered rigid, it will provide some relief to people such as Aimen*, who was in and out of courtrooms for 15 months while attempting to get a correction done.

The 32-year-old Aimen is Ahmadi, but was mistakenly listed as Muslim in NADRA records and her CNIC, issued on March 17, 2007. She was flatly refused permission to make a correction.

“NADRA refused, even though both my parents are listed as Ahmadi in NADRA records,” she said, adding that she was left with no option but to move a civil court in Toba Tek Singh in December 2013.

In court, NADRA contended that Aimen had listed her religion as Islam when she submitted her forms.

“I informed the court that the form was filled by a staffer at a NADRA centre in Toba Tek Singh, and while filing, they did not even ask me about my religion,” she said. In March 2014, the court decided in her favour, but NADRA did not rectify the mistake as it had no internal policy guidelines to allow for it.

Under the new policy, Aimen’ application can be considered, and in all likelihood, accepted.

Jama’at Ahmadiyya Pakistan spokesperson Saleemuddin said the community had been denied fundamental rights through controversial legislation and that the CNIC issue was a “secondary level” issue.

NADRA, he said, should properly convey this decision to its local centres across the country, as limiting processing of such cases to NADRA Headquarters would be an unnecessary waste of time and money.

Saleemuddin said that a few months back, Ahmadi representatives had spoken about the issue with the then-NADRA chairman and had requested that the authority introduce changes to its policy to allow modification of religion.

*Name changed to protect identity

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2015.