Afghans illegally added to poor citizen’s Nadra record

CHARSADDA: In a shocking case of alleged identity fraud, three Afghan nationals were illegally added to the family registration of an elderly and impoverished citizen at the Nadra office in Charsadda, reportedly with the help of deceitful agents.

The victim was misled into believing he would receive financial assistance from the Zakat Department, only to have his and his wife’s CNICs misused in the process.According to reports, two individuals, Asim and Meraj Gul, manipulated Inayatullah, a resident of Gidarkalay, Charsadda, by promising Zakat aid. They obtained his CNIC and used it to illegally acquire birth certificates for three Afghan nationals, Sher Khan, Hashmat Khan, and Farazullah, from Sarbandpura Village Council under Kamboh Union Council in Peshawar district.

It is important to note that village council secretaries from one district are not authorized to issue birth certificates for residents of another district. Despite this, the agents succeeded in obtaining these birth certificates using Inayatullah’s original CNIC, which were then used to secure CNICs from Nadra’s Charsadda office during late hours, reportedly after 9 PM, just two weeks ago.

The Charsadda Nadra records revealed that over the past five years, more than 400 complaints had been filed about the illegal inclusion of unrelated individuals in family registration cards.

According to the station diary report registered at the City Police Station, the birth certificates were issued on June 13, this year for Hashmat Khan and Farazullah, and on June 14 for Sher Khan. The village council secretary stated that the person who applied had shown Inayatullah’s original CNIC to obtain these certificates.

Inayatullah claimed that upon realizing the agents were taking him to the Nadra office instead of the Zakat Department, he tried to raise the alarm. However, he was allegedly silenced and forced to provide thumb impressions on documents.

When contacted, Nadra Charsadda officials stated that all legal procedures were followed in issuing the CNICs but added that the matter had been referred to higher authorities after the complaint.

The complainant alleged that despite submitting all relevant evidence to the police, no FIR had yet been registered against the accused.DSP Zardad Khan confirmed that an inquiry had been launched based on the station diary, and a case would be registered once the investigation concludes.

Nadra officials revealed that in response to 400 similar complaints received in Charsadda over the past five years, certain staff members were terminated from service after investigations confirmed misconduct.