NADRA issues CNICs to ghost individuals

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), has added a new record to its feather of negligence by issuing computerised national identity cards (CNIC) to another ghost person and the institution with state-of the-art infrastructure now has no proof of their residence, family tree, or nationality.

According to the details two individuals, Manzoor Ahmed and Noor Ahmed manipulated the gaps by acquiring their CNICs from NADRA in year 2010 and sold the property of a dead man – Muhammad Ali – in Dera Ghazi Khan. It is important to mention here that both the persons were not linked to Muhammad Ali, who died issueless in 2001.

Kazim Hussain, brother of Muhammad Ali, a resident of Dera Ghazi Khan, told Pakistan Today that their property was worth Rs 3 millions which was illegally transferred by Manzoor Ahmed and Noor Ahmed through their CNICs which showed them as heirs of late Muhammad Ali, the property owner. However, Muhammad Ali had died without any next of kins.

The property was gifted by Kazim Hussain to his brother Muhammad Ali. When he was informed that the property was sold and transferred to new owners, he checked the record and came to know about the forgery. The fraud was committed using CNIC issued by NADRA to Manzoor Ahmed and Noor Ahmed in 2010.

This scribe visited the NADRA centre in F-8 Markaz to get the CNICs of Manzoor Ahmed and Noor Ahmed verified. The officials at the centre informed that there was no record available to prove their credentials, residence or family tree.

The focal person of NADRA, Faiq Ali, said “Such CNIC cards were made without verifying the family data of the applicants. These cards are marked as a ‘system independent’ in NADRA record. The people with such cards cannot get passports to travel abroad. In a nutshell these cards have no legal value.”

However, NADRA has no mechanism to check their misuse in fraudulent activities.