During a session with the Senate Committee on Interior, National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) Chairman Lieutenant General Munir Afsar disclosed that some Nadra staff members were engaged in the issuance of counterfeit Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs). This revelation was part of the committee’s discussion on the prevalence of fake CNICs, the unauthorized availability of citizens’ family data in the black market, and the issuance of multiple SIMs on a single CNIC for illegal activities.
Chairing the meeting, Senator Mohsin Aziz led the discussion where the Nadra chief shared that approximately 84 officials involved in illegal activities had been suspended. However, he pointed out that the absence of a law dealing with privacy matters made it challenging to subject these employees to legal consequences.
In response to the ongoing issues, the Senate panel recommended implementing modern measures to address these concerns and safeguard citizen data.
Separately, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) reported the arrest of five individuals in a joint raid with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Circle. The operation targeted a mobile phone company franchisee on Kohat Road, Peshawar, involved in issuing illegal SIMs against Afghan passports. The franchisee, reportedly run by an Afghan national, was allegedly selling activated SIMs to Afghan nationals for Rs. 3000 each. The raid resulted in the seizure of five laptops and eight mobile phones containing scanned passport data.
The PTA highlighted that this was the 12th raid of its kind in the year. This development occurs in the context of Pakistan’s crackdown on illegal Afghan immigrants, with a November 1 deadline for them to return to their homeland. The caretaker interior minister, Sarfraz Bugti, emphasized the necessity of this crackdown, citing the involvement of Afghan nationals in recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan.
