PHC confirms pre-arrest bail of Nadra’s ex-official

Sharbat Gula case 

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday confirmed pre-arrest bail of Palwasha Afridi, the official of National Databse and registration Authority (Nadra), allegedly charged with issuing Pakistani Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) to Sharbat Gula, an Afghan woman and two others.

A single bench of Justice Yahya Afridi confirmed the pre-arrest bail of Palwasha Afridi after hearing her lawyer and state lawyer representing FIA. To avoid arrest, Palwasha Afridi, had filed bail before arrest application in the high court after the special anti-corruption and immigration court dismissed her bail before application in the case.

During hearing, the petitioner's lawyer Danish Afridi submitted that his client was innocent in the case as she played no role in verification of the documents of fake CNIC for Sharbat Gula.

He said there was nothing on record about involvement of the female officer in the case as only one officer due to personal grudges named her during inquiry in the case. Second, he said, she was also the mother of a suckling baby.

On the other hand, the state lawyer opposed the release of the petitioner on bail and said that issuance of fake CNICs to Afghan nationals was a high profile case. However, the bench adjourned hearing into the bail petitions of the two other former Nadra officials Mohsin Ehsan and Emad Khan to December 13.