National Database Registration Authority’s (Nadra) Chairman, Lieutenant General Munir Afsar, has sounded an alarm regarding issuing counterfeit Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs).
In a recent revelation to the Senate Committee on Interior, presided over by Senator Mohsin Aziz, he highlighted the involvement of some of the Nadra staff in this illicit activity.
Afsar told the senators that action had been taken against these errant employees, suspending approximately 84 officials. “However, there is a legal loophole as employees often evade penalties due to the lack of a specific law addressing privacy issues,” he pointed out. To rectify this, the Senate committee has proposed introducing contemporary measures.
Unlawful SIMs and Concerns for National Security
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) reported a joint raid with the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cyber Crime Circle in Kohat Road, Peshawar, targeting a mobile phone franchisee illegally issuing SIMs using Afghan passports.
“The franchise, allegedly operated by an Afghan national, sold these SIMs to fellow Afghans for Rs.3000 each,” informed the PTA.
Along with the arrests, devices containing scanned passport data were confiscated. This marks the 12th operation of its kind this year by the PTA.
In response to the rise in terror incidents, Pakistan has set a deadline of November 1 for all unauthorized Afghan residents to return to Afghanistan.
Sarfraz Bugti, the interim interior minister, justified this strict stance, citing that Afghan nationals have orchestrated the most recent terror attacks on Pakistani soil.
