PHC asks Nadra to submit reply

CNICs blocking

PESHAWAR: Questioning the blocking of computerised national identity cards (CNICs) to thousands of people from Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday asked the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to submit reply within 14 days to justify the act.

Thousands of people from Mohmand Agency have moved the PHC to seek unblocking and issuance of the CNICs. During the course of hearing, the lawyer Ghulam Mohiyuddin Malik informed the court that CNICs of thousands of people from Fata had been blocked without any reason.

He submitted that under the law, Nadra was bound to issue show-cause notice and give the right of hearing to a person before blocking his or her CNIC. However, he said that the law was not being followed and CNICs of thousands of tribal people had been blocked.

He pointed out that Nadra had blocked the CNICs of 4,351 tribal people belonging to Tutikhel tribe of Mohmand Agency without verification of political agent and confirmation from the intelligent agencies.

The lawyer said that a former governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah had also declared the area, where the petitioners lived, as sub-division of the tribal agency.He said that thousands of tribal people now lived in an uncertain situation as Nadra had put their nationality at stake.  

He stated that in 2004 and 2007 Nadra issued CNICs to over 1700 people of this area on the orders of the high court. However, the legal advisor to Nadra couldn’t explain before the court as to why the CNICs of the tribal people were blocked even after verification and confirmation of the officials and agencies concerned. He sought some time to submit a detailed reply and current status of the CNICs of the tribal people.