Nadra alleges political interference in Balochistan

PkMAP refutes charges, accuses agency officials of seeking bribes

ISLAMABAD: The top registration body — National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) — stunned many on Wednesday after its senior officials accused a leading political party wanted some demographic changes in Balochistan by illegally getting Pakistani nationality identity cards for aliens.

The Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) was allegedly threatening senior officials of Nadra to get cleared tens of thousands of blocked computerised national identity cards (CNICs) of foreigners who according to officials could be Afghans, Iranians or Uzbeks.

 “This illegal and forceful interference has literally seized Nadra’s independent processing of CNICs as per SOPs. There were reports from Zones that Pk-MAP was pressurizing Nadra staff to register their nominated suspected aliens,” wrote Director General Nadra Balochistan Mirajam Khan Durrani to office of chairman Nadra Islamabad. The confidential letter is also exclusively made available with The News.  

Two days after authorities found suspected Pakistani credentials of Afghan Taliban Chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour who was killed in a US Drone strike in Noshki, NADRA officials wrote to Islamabad authorities that the provincial ministers/MPAs of Pk-MAP were forcing officials for illegally processing Pakistani national cards of aliens. But top leadership of the party denied the allegations, accusing Nadra officials of taking bribe from poor Pashtoons who could not even pay official fee for their CNICs.

“We are being threatened by PkMAP leaders of dire consequences in case we seek more valid credential for verification—no matter either he/she is alien or not,” said a senior official of Nadra Quetta Office in an official communication with The News. “PkMAP wants to increase its vote bank through registration of aliens in Pashtoon areas of Balochistan,” he claimed who did not want to be named. 

Dr Hamid Khan Achakzai, Minister for Planning and Development, said they were approaching NADRA just because their workers were facing serious problems to get themselves registration with top registration body for years. “Yes we wrote letters to NADRA officials for ensuring registration of their voters, who are true Pakistanis,” he told The News/Geo News. As a political party, it is our responsibility to support our voters to resolve their issues, he said, clarifying we did not threaten any NADRA official.

“It is an effort by NADRA officials to cover up their corruption by leveling such allegations,” he said.