A plea to NADRA chief | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

A plea to NADRA chief

By: DR SHAH DIN RAFIQ

ON Oct 4 I visited the Nadra office, Bakra Mandi (Kamalabad), Rawalpindi Cantt, to request the manager to issue the CNIC of my daughter, Bushra Ahmed, who attainted the age of 18 years on Oct 3.

I presented the manual B Form in which Bushra appears on serial No. 3. The said B Form was rejected by the manager of the office of Nadra on the plea that the manual B Form has been declared invalid by the new policy of Nadra (copy of B Form attached).

1. It is pertinent to mention here that two of my daughters were issued the CNICa on the basis of the same manual B Form. Their names can be seen on Sr. no. 1&2 of the
B Form.

I informed the manager that my daughter is studying in Grade VIII in a local school and in lieu of Form B I can produce the school certificate duly counter-signed by the District Education Officer. He rejected my request saying even the school certificate is not acceptable under the new policy of Nadra. Only the Matriculation Certificate duly issued by the Board is acceptable.

My daughter, being physically partially disabled, has not yet passed her matriculation examination despite her attaining the age of 18 years. It means that she would take at least three years to pass the matriculation examination and during this period she would remain deprived of her CNIC.

The manger asked me to produce her birth certificate issued by the Cantonment Board, Rawalpindi.

I informed him that I have never applied for the birth certificate of my children because it was never mandatory to produce the birth certificate for CNIC. My two daughters were issued CNICs without any birth certificate.

Even now if I apply to the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board for Bushra’s birth certificate, I shall have to pay Rs1,000 as fine for late submission. The manual B Form, which has been rejected by Nadra, was issued by none other agency but Nadra. If it is not computerized, it is not my fault, rather it is the fault of Nara for which I am being penalised.

I have seen a large number of people like me suffering from the same problem at the Nadra office.

The Nadra chairman should restore the previous policy under which the manual B Form was accepted. Moreover, in lieu of manual B Form, the school certificate may be accepted. Your kind step in this direction would surely relieve the tension being suffered by the parents.

Dawn