LAHORE – National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) NADRA is responsible for creating, managing and securing national identity database of Pakistan.
It issues computerised national identity cards (CNICs), National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP), Form B and other identity documents after a verification process.
Recently there have been reports and speculations circulating about illegal issuance of CNICs and Cyber Security at NADRA. For sake of transparency and informing the public, the NADRA has issued a press release in this regard.
It highlighted the factors involved in issuances of fake ID cards. External factors like unreliable supporting documents, verification mechanism, attestation and legal lacunae occasionally lead to issuance of illegal CNICs. Internal factors like involvement of a few employees in malpractices for financial gains also sometimes add to the problem.
Through its robust monitoring and corrective mechanism more than 18000 illegal CNICs were identified and cancelled. NADRA is resorting to stringent rectification measures through better coordination with other stakeholders and strict internal scrutiny.
NADRA Introduces New Measures for ID Card Issuances
Newly introduced measures include: biometric verification of parents and blood relatives during processing, informing head of the family through SMS, two-factor authentication for data access and an improved internal oversight. These efforts have resulted into proactive identification and mitigation of malafide attempts for issuance of illegal CNICs.
Actions Against Violators
Disciplinary measures have been taken against violators and facilitators and process of departmental accountability and inquiry has been further streamlined.
Thirty percent of internal inquiry has been concluded resulting into termination and major penalties to defaulters. A JIT has been additionally constituted to probe into illegal issuance of any CNIC and other documents.
