KARACHI: The woes of the underprivileged in Karachi seemingly have no end. Bigger problems aside, the people of Orangi Town are unable even to get the government to recognise their existence as they stand in lines and camp outside NADRA offices waiting just to submit their documents for their National Identification Cards.
The sight of men and women sitting outside ceaselessly waiting for a chance to get their documents filed is no new site for the residents of the area. Weeks and months pass with the citizens coming in every day but the due process does not move in the slightest.
Most of the people that continue to wait outside are wage labourers. These men are rickshaw drivers and manual labourers. They need their ID Cards to show to the traffic police or their contractors. Anyone that needs legal matters sorted also have no proof of citizenship as the area’s NADRA office continues to not process those lining up outside to get their cards. The people whose needs are not as immediate have already given up and stopped coming to the office.
“I have been coming here for the past four days, but my turn has not been called out,” an older adult man lamented. “Agents make CNICs for people in exchange for cash while we keep sitting outside waiting for our number to be called.”
A rickshaw driver in the are complained that he had to go out at 05:30 and stay out until at least 20:30 to try and get as many rides as possible and that it was impossible for him to take hours and hours out of his day and still not get his work done.
A number of women can also be seen waiting for their turn either after having to drag along their young children or leave them at home unsupervised to get their CNICs made. One woman claimed that even if they were able to get their documents in to the officers, they simply take them away from them and send them out without processing the documents.
The practical unavailability of National Identity Cards means that residents often get in trouble with the police who arrest them when they conduct raids after they are not able to prove the legality of their residence through the Identity Card.
