Daily Times

In a matter of huge concern for institutions of the country, an Afghan resident reportedly not only got the citizenship of Pakistan but also became a councillor and got issued national identity cards to more than 1000 Afghans from NADRA.

After the investigation, the authorities expelled this Afghan resident from the country, but this person again came to Pakistan after presenting an allegedly fake order of the Afghan Supreme Court.

According to the documentary records with the FIA and other national security agencies, also available with Daily Times, an Afghan named Sardar Mohammad Asif Naqshbandi came to Pakistan in the 90s and started working as a waiter at the Kalapul restaurant in Karachi. At the same time, he got the sympathy of the owner of the restaurant and settled in his native village Goth Hazratabad. There in the village, Sardar Muhammad Asif Naqshbandi got close to the chairman of the union council of Gadap. He got elected as a councillor through local government elections from Hazratabad.

The person with suspicious activities was first noticed by FIA when he introduced himself at several places as an officer of FIA and other sensitive institutions. He was arrested but due to loopholes of the Pakistani system, was soon released from the clutches of the law.

The intelligence agencies were shocked to find identity card of an Afghan citizen from the murder scene of Maulana Samiul Haq and the address of Goth Hazratabad was written on that CNIC. Afterwards, the intelligence agencies checked the records of NADRA with the help of the Ministry of Interior and found that more than 3000 Afghans had obtained Pakistani identity cards with the addresses of different houses of Goth Hazratabad and were residing in different areas of Karachi.

Later, the intelligence agencies obtained the complete record of Sardar Muhammad Asif Naqshbandi and gave it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which together with the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs found out about the Afghan citizenship of Sardar Muhammad Asif Naqshbandi.

During this long investigation, the Afghan authorities sent verification documents to the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs and admitted that Sardar Muhammad Asif Naqshbandi is an Afghani, so after the FIA authorities had completed all the legal requirements, he was handed over to the Afghan authorities from the Chaman border.

Naqshbandi was deported in December 2020, but within 15 days, he again took advantage of the weaknesses of Pakistan’s system and reached Karachi. It is also noteworthy that a case was registered against him in 2019-20 for the crime of holding dual identity cards, but he again eased the way by bribing officials.

Sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs say that after confirming with the Afghan Ministry, they had given a report to the Ministry of Interior and all the intelligence agencies for further action. It should be noted here that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies are already very concerned about the activities of Afghan citizens in Pakistan because in some instances, neighboring India has used Afghans against Pakistan in the recent past.