ECP, Nadra keen on making sure every adult secures CNIC
Mumtaz Alvi
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) have devised a strategy to ensure all persons of 18 years and above get the computerised national identity cards (CNICs) and then get registered as voters this year.
The ECP and Nadra are keen on making sure that every adult secures CNIC and gets himself registered as a voter when the door-to-door enumeration and revision of electoral rolls is carried out, The News learnt.
The two departments have already entered into an understanding to benefit from compilation of the country-wide ongoing house-listing data.
Nadra is faced with a worrying situation wherein female adults in a big number have not yet got themselves registered with it, particularly in 35-40 districts, of which 22 are of Balochistan.
Under a crash plan, the authority has adopted various techniques to motivate female population in southern Punjab’s Vehari, Khanewal and Bahawalnagar districts and in Fata and some settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunhwa besides several districts of Sindh, including Tharparkar, Thattha, Umerkot, Kashmore and Dadu and in Balochistan 22 districts that include Dera Bugti and Kohlu which have a dismal record of female registration with Nadra, sources told The News.
Data available with this correspondent showed that in all 84.74 million males and females now had CNIC, and it clearly meant that over 90 percent adult population had been covered by the Authority with two types of biometrics i.e. ten fingers’ prints and a picture of the individuals.
A break-up of these statistics is: 49 million males and 35 million females now are registered with Nadra; however, a significant development was a 55 percent surge in female registration during the last three years.
When contacted, Deputy Chairman Nadra Muhammad Tariq Malik confirmed there had been a rising trend of female registration with Nadra, but he insisted still, they wanted more females getting registered in the backward and far-flung areas, where females showed no interest in this national exercise.
He noted they had drawn up a new plan to motivate female population to get CNICs. He explained various prizes such as refrigerators, television sets, washing machines and dinner sets would be given to females, having obtained CNICs through periodical draws.
Tariq Malik said initially three females from each province will be benefiting from the draw and it will be reviewed depending upon the trend of aspirants. He said they learnt from their field staff females were least interested in CNICs in the most backward and poverty-stricken districts and even in towns, the trend was not very encouraging.
In this context, he mentioned women registration in AJK was the highest (96 percent), followed by Islamabad (91 percent), Gilgit-Baltistan (83 percent), Punjab (77 percent), Sindh (71 percent) and Fata (45 percent), whereas in Balochistan it was the lowest. He pointed out overall female registration was 75 percent, which his department wanted to increase to 90 percent by the end of 2011.
He was hopeful the offer of prizes to female new CNIC holders would encourage others to follow suit and help them take a first step towards their empowerment. In this connection, he added they were weighing the option of engaging some noted figures like Mukhtaran Mai to help them in the planned campaign to be launched shortly.
Tariq Malik said identity card was a very basic but important piece of identity and is vital for females to push for their rights and get a fair treatment in case they faced discrimination or domestic violence.
Nadra, he said, was vigorously campaigning for the overall population’s registration and had also hired services of some trekkers in Kohistan to register scores of families in mountains, who hardly had interested in securing CNIC.
Source: The News
Date:4/15/2011
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