National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has played a key role in the resolution of various social issues affecting the socio-economic development of Pakistan, and the parentage of socially destitute children is a long-standing initiative of NADRA which has eventually seen a prospect of success in naming the parents of unknown parentage of orphans across the country.
The NADRA Chairman, Tariq Malik said “NADRA has adopted a proactive approach to help sort out this issue having widespread social and religious implications. The authority has shown its unflinching commitment both at policy and technical levels since 2006 when the issue of identification of such children surfaced. Now children without known parentage will have the fundamental right to be the citizen of Pakistan and get an identity under section 9 of NADRA Ordinance 2000. The fundamental rights, however, were not accorded to children with unknown parentage. With the completion of registration process of orphanages, no individual (orphan) can be deprived of his fundamental right as ensured in the constitution of the country. These rights include equality of status, opportunity and before law, social, economic and political justice and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and association subject to the law and public morality”.
The spokesperson of NADRA said in a statement said that the authority had held extensive consultation with religious scholars in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, including the Council of Islamic Ideology. Subsequently, the authority was all set to commence the process of bringing enhancement in the software application to automate the data capturing process of orphans, said the spokesperson. Prior to the registration of orphans, all the orphanages of the country were mandatorily to be registered with NADRA, the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson also said that the orphanages had already been asked to comply with the compulsive requirement that called for the provision of complete filling of registration form, copy of head CNIC, registration document issued by Federal/Provincial Registration Authority and all records of children held by orphanages with complete details. NADRA has sought the requisite information from orphanages not later than Nov 30.
