NADRA issued illegal CNICs to half million aliens
ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Interior Chairman Senator Talha Mahmood on Tuesday claimed that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) issued Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) to around half a million aliens, including Afghans.
Chairing the standing committee meeting, he said that majority of CNICs were issued to aliens with the approval of Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mir Alam Khan, who is brother of a PPP MNA from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Noor Alam Khan.
The senator stunned the committee members when he said that the authority issued Pakistan Origin Cards (POC) to even the CIA agents after which the latter required no visa to enter Pakistan. Under the law, the National Alien Registration Authority (NARA) is mandated to register the aliens present in Pakistan and they are not entitled to national identity cards. Talha challenged the NADRA COO to bring documentary evidence on issuing CNICs to aliens and POC to CIA agents in the next meeting to which the latter had no reply.
The issue of giving police access to mobile phone data and traffic also came under discussion as the committee expressed concern over increasing incidents of kidnapping for ransom.
The Ministry of Interior joint secretary (law) told the committee that a summary had been forwarded to the prime minister to grant police access to mobile phone data, adding that equipment would be provided to the police chiefs of all the four provinces so as to find the location of criminal elements. “PTA would soon bring a law to give police access to mobile phone data,” he added. Senator Sardar Khan was of the view that police access to mobile traffic was vital to control criminal activities and advocated establishing an integrated tracking system under the supervision of Interior Ministry. The committee sought report from the provinces on kidnapping for ransom cases.
Talha believed that international forces were involved in creating law and order situation in Gilgit-Baltistan. Interior Secretary Khawaja Siddique Akbar told the committee that law enforcement agencies were facing a deficiency of 12,000 personnel and added that a summary has been sent to the PM on the issue.
The committee also sought a report from the Interior Ministry on the usage of 14 helicopters given by the US for fighting criminals, as the chairman believed that the helicopters were not being used for the prescribed purposes but for rulers’ leisure.
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