The country’s top security czar has set a deadline to re-verify all national identity cards within six months, saying the country faced an emergent situation to authenticate identities of nationals.
“We will carry out re-verification of all identity cards in a time span of six months while two months will be given to those who have fake identity cards and passports to get them blocked,” Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told reporters on Friday.
Once the deadline to block or give up fake documents ends, we will announce jail terms up to seven years as well as registration of criminal cases against such persons, he added. “A legal team has also been constituted in this regard.”
On Thursday, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had confirmed that Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, killed in a US drone strike on May 21 in Balochistan, was travelling on fake documents – CNIC and passport.
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Nisar further said that employees of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) involved in developing fake documents will be jailed up to 14 years.
He said the country is facing an emergency-like situation, while hinting that measures are necessary to confirm identities of nationals. “It is a question of the state and I will not refrain from any actions to safeguard its territories.”
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“We have blocked as many as 0.12 million identity cards in a matter of few months while 120 million SIM cards were verified,” he added.
The interior minister went on to say that those sharing information to the government regarding fake documentation will be rewarded.
Heads of the families, Nisar said, will be sent a letter, asking them to verify credentials existing in the database.
Regarding Nadra, the security czar said he has removed 16 of the director generals, bringing them to 10 now. “Any official of the authority or the passport directorate involved in the wrongdoing will have to face punishment.”
“No foreigner was awarded a Pakistani nationality since I assumed office as an interior minister,” he said.
On May 25, the interior minister had given Nadra a 48-hour deadline for preparing a road-map to launch a country-wide CNIC re-verification campaign of the entire population.
According to Nisar, the emergence of CNIC of Mullah Mansoor under fake identity of Wali Muhammad had sent a message to the world that anyone could acquire Pakistani CNIC.
