Daily Times

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the issuance of computerised national identity cards (CNIC) to transgender persons within 15 days.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar Nisar, while presiding over the suo motu hearing of non-issuance of CNICs to transgender persons, asked National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) Chairman Usman Mubeen whether transgender persons were being issued CNICs.

The NADRA chairman told the CJP, “Yes, 90 percent CNICs have been issued so far. We are also using mobile registration units to issue CNICs.”

However, the chief justice said, “I was expecting that all CNICs would have been issued by today. SC order for issuance of CNICs to transgender persons was not limited to Punjab,” he added.

To this, the NADRA chairman said, “A meeting for representatives from all four provinces will be held sometime this month.”

Directing that Justice (r) Arif be made head of a special committee ensuring issuance of CNICs, Justice Nisar said, “I had earlier asked that transgender persons should not be asked for medical certificates as it is not part of NADRA’s policy.”

Transgender activist Almas Bobby told the chief justice, “We are not called to any meetings.”

Responding to Bobby, Justice Nisar said, “I am hearing the case on the basis of human rights. There is also a lot of politics within the transgender community,” he added.

Justice Nisar then ordered that the issue of non-issuance of CNICs to transgender persons be addressed within 15 days and adjourned the hearing of the case for an indefinite period of time.

On June 18, the CJP ordered to form a special committee to ensure the issuance of CNIC to transgender persons.

The top judge had taken suo motu notice of the issue on June 16.

Published in Daily Times, July 6^th 2018.