Declaring one brother Pakistani, another Afghan

PHC questions Nadra’s verification process authenticity

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday directed the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to explain as to how it could declare  one brother an Afghan national and another Pakistani after due process of verification.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Lal Jan Khattak questioned how it was possible that one brother was declared a non-national and another a Pakistani.

The bench took notice of the matter when the lawyer for a petitioner, Abdullah, informed the bench that it was strange on part of Nadra that it had confirmed Abdullah’s father Sher Agha
as Afghan national and declared his brother a Pakistani.

The court ordered Nadra to submit reply in the case within 15 days.Abdullah filed the petition in the high court after Nadra blocked his and his family’s computerised national identity card (CNIC).

The Nadra and the Ministry of Interior declared his father an Afghan national.The counsel for the petitioner submitted that Bas Gula, mother of the petitioner was Pakistani, but Nadra blocked their CNICs. He said they wanted to be awarded Pakistani citizenship as his mother was a Pakistani national.

The court asked Nadra to explain under what law the children would be declared as Afghans or Pakistanis.The same bench disposed of the writ petition of a Pakistani who got the proof of registration (PoR) card meant for Afghan refugees with the direction to first clear his citizenship issue from the Ministry of Interior and then file an appeal against blocking of his CNIC and those of his family members.

Anwar Ali Yousafzai, counsel for the petitioners, submitted that Nadra officials had blocked the CNICs of nine family members, including Rohullah, hailing from Pabbi town in Nowshera district since April 27, 2007.

The Nadra’s legal advisor informed the bench that one of the family members Rohullah had obtained PoR card and that was the reason the CNICs of the members of his family were blocked.

He submitted that Rohullah’s citizenship was doubtful and, therefore, he should first get certificate of Pakistani citizenship from Ministry of Interior and then apply for unblocking the CNICs of his family members.

It is pertinent to mention that Nadra had submitted its reply in the high court in the writ petitions against blocking of CNICs.

It claimed that more than 10,000 CNICs of Pakistanis were blocked after it was found that they had obtained PoR cards and were getting facilities and ration meant for the Afghan refugees. The officials said that their Pakistani citizenship was doubtful and they would be cleared after due process.