Nadra chief says some staff involved in issuance of fake CNICs

ISLAMABAD: In addition to external factors, the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) staff is also involved in issuance of fake Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs). 

It was disclosed by Chairman Nadra, Lt General Munir Afsar, during a meeting of the Senate Committee on Interior on Wednesday.

The Senate panel, which met under the chair of Senator Mohsin Aziz, discussed the matter of fake Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs), availability of citizens’ family data in the black market and issuance of multiple SIMs on a single CNIC, which are being used in illegal activities.

The chairman Nadra told the committee that action had been taken against the employees engaged in any form of illegal activity, with around 84 officials suspended so far. “However, employees escape punishment due to the absence of a law dealing with the Privacy of Data Law,” he told the committee. The Senate panel recommended modern measures to address these issues.

The committee also deliberated on the bill titled “The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023.” Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi, the mover of the bill, stated that the increasing trend of false accusations and malicious criminal prosecution had become an alarming issue.

The bill aims to enhance the length of punishment for these offenses by amending Section 182 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Schedule-II of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The special secretary of the interior informed the committee that the matter fell under the ambit of the provinces, and a letter had been written to request their response which was still awaited. The committee directed the ministry to submit the provinces’ intake within the next ten days.