Nadra blocks 40,000 CNICs issued to foreign nationals

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has blocked over 45,000 Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) issued to foreign nationals since 2005.

They include China, United States, India, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Uzbek, Maldives, Morocco, Bangladesh and Burma.

Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar confirmed that Nadra blocked over 0.23 million suspicious national identity cards in past five years. Either these CNICs were issued to foreigners or Pakistanis.

More than 650 officials of Nadra allegedly issued these tens of thousands of CNICs to foreign nationals, majority of them were ‘unregistered Afghan refugees’ during this period, officials assigned to investigate this scam claimed.

However, over 108 Nadra officials were involved in this scam in Regional Office Karachi alone.

Nadra issued CNICs to 21 Chinese citizens, 29 Indians, 236 Iranians, one American, 111 Bengali and Burmese, seven Moroccan, three Uzbeks, two Maldivians, one Senegal citizen, 13 Egyptian and around 40, 000 Afghans got Pakistani cards, revealed an official document.

After expending scope of investigation into this scam, Nadra claimed it blocked around 40, 000 CNICs issued to foreign citizens since 2005.