Minister says over 260 NADRA officials penalised for irregularities
ISLAMABAD – July 17, 2025:
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Wednesday dismissed allegations of regional discrimination in the national drive to verify Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) and family trees, saying the campaign was conducted without any bias or provincial favouritism.
Addressing concerns raised by lawmakers during a Senate session, Chaudhry said that more than 5,000 passports issued to foreign nationals falsely claiming Pakistani citizenship were detected overseas — with the majority found in Saudi Arabia. These passports, he added, were voluntarily returned by individuals who later admitted they were not Pakistani nationals.
The minister revealed that many of these individuals had fraudulently been added to legitimate family trees, often through corrupt practices by NADRA staff or deliberate inclusion by families seeking to help non-nationals obtain Pakistani documents. The scam allowed these individuals to receive CNICs and, in turn, Pakistani passports.
In response to this growing problem, the Ministry of Interior launched nationwide verification campaigns in 2014 and again in 2019, aiming to cleanse the national identity database and remove unverified entries. Chaudhry said the government also introduced a dual verification process: one at the district level, led by Deputy Commissioners, and the other through Zonal Verification Boards, which handle cases flagged by intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Refuting claims of targeted action against specific regions, the minister stressed:
“NADRA is a national institution. It treats every citizen equally, regardless of where they live. No province has been singled out.”
He acknowledged that the highest number of fraudulent entries were discovered in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but clarified that this reflected patterns of misuse, not any official bias.
To ensure public involvement and transparency, NADRA introduced a family tree verification system via SMS, allowing citizens to confirm or dispute individuals listed in their records. According to the minister, the authority received over 71,000 complaints of unauthorized individuals being added to family records without consent.
Chaudhry also provided updates on internal disciplinary measures.
He confirmed that 266 NADRA employees had been dismissed, while several others faced penalties following departmental inquiries.
“We’ve held officials at all levels accountable — including deputy directors. In many cases, criminal proceedings have been initiated,” he said.
Reassuring lawmakers, Chaudhry added that any case raised by parliamentarians would be reviewed and re-verified, pledging full cooperation in identifying and correcting any remaining anomalies in the national database.
