Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Federal interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan has said that the incumbent government has blocked some 237,000 national identity cards and about 29,000 passports that were found to be counterfeit.

Nisar said that almost 350,000 CNICs were verified during the last 40 days and countless cases surfaced regarding the inclusion of unrelated persons in the family trees of people. “The national identity card of Mullah Mansoor was made in 2004 and it was extended in 2011. He also travelled to many countries including Iran, UAE and Bahrain on a Pakistani passport,” the minister said. He added that all those persons involved in issuing identity cards to Mullah Mansoor were not only removed from the service but also apprehended by law enforcement agencies.

He said that it was the need of the hour to constitute a parliamentary committee on the issue of bogus identity cards and passports wherein officials form NADRA and other department would have to submit reports on a monthly basis. He also appealed to the Speaker of the National Assembly to form a committee for the purpose.

He claimed that the government would clear up the muck of counterfeit identity cards within six to eight months as this job was extremely necessary for the national security. He also sought the assistance of parliamentary leaders in this connection. The Interior Minster was of the view that the last government issued many bogus identity cards whereas only 525 cards were blocked from 2006 to 2013.

While responding to a question, he said that if an Afghan man got married with a Pakistani woman, their children would be treated as Afghan nationals as they could not be considered Pakistanis.

On the occasion, Parliamentary Secretary for Interior Marriyam Aurangzeb told the house that the registration of five madrassas had been cancelled during the regime of the current government including Madrasa Ghusia Faiz-ul-Quran Sukkur, Madrasa Taleem-ul-Quran Ghotki, Madrasa Taleem-ul-Quran Khairpur and Madrasa Arabia Islamia Ahya-ul- Aloom Hamidia Kashmore.