Eight new NADRA online centres being set up abroad, NA told

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Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control Muhammad Baleegh-ur-Rehman Friday informed the National Assembly that National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) will set up its new online centres in different countries to facilitate overseas Pakistanis.

The authority would equip the centres with required staff and machinery for extending maximum facilities to expatriate Pakistanis in getting National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistan (NICOP) and Pakistan Origin Card (POC), he said during the question-hour.

To a question, the minister said presently no machinery has so far been installed in NADRA Cell established in Pakistan Embassy in USA, however, forms for NICOP/POC were received manually and forwarded to the headquarters for processing.

He said the authority board had approved to equip its centres operating in Washington DC, New York, Houston and Los Angles required machinery for online processing of requests for issuance of NICOP and POC.

To another question, Baleegh-ur-Rehman said NADRA dealt with 1,86,000 double identity cards cases up to June 30, 2015,  the last date of clemency the Ministry had announced for giving chance to the card holders to get them corrected.

“To facilitate the general public having dual CNICs, the federal government granted clemency in such cases by imposing processing fee in year 2008, depending on the nature of the case fee is set,” he added.

After computerization of identity cards, he said, some citizens got double cards mistakenly and some wilfully. “The wilful double card holders will be dealt strictly. Fine amounting to Rs 100,000 and imprisonment can be given to them,” he added.

To a supplementary question, the minister said the last date could be extended if it established that a number of citizens still wanted to get their double cards issue settled with the authority.

Under the clemency, he said every applicant who approached NADRA was facilitated and cleared well in time and duplicate clearance of CNICs was done through a well defined process, adding  that through this process 186,002 individuals have been processed and cleared in last seven years.

To another question, the minister said as many as 257,433 Pakistanis have been deported from foreign countries since January 2012.