Nadra cancels 4.2 million CNICs of deceased individuals

ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has cancelled around 4.2 million Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) of individuals who have been recorded as deceased in provincial civil registration systems, according to a statement issued by the authority.

In many cases, while deaths are formally registered, the next of kin do not apply for the cancellation of CNICs of the deceased, resulting in a discrepancy between civil registration records and Nadra’s database.

Under the legal framework, Nadra maintains and updates the national citizen database by incorporating “vital life-event information” — birth, death, marriage, and divorce — received from provincial and local Civil Registration Management Systems (CRMS), the statement said.

These records are reported and registered at local civil registration authorities, including union councils, town committees and cantonment boards, typically by blood relatives of the individuals concerned, it detailed.

“In pursuance of its statutory mandate under Sections 7(b)(ii) and 21 of the Nadra Ordinance 2000, and Rules 16 and 17 of the Nadra (National Identity Card) Rules 2002, [Nadra] has undertaken a nationwide reconciliation of civil registration records with the national citizen database to ensure the accuracy and integrity of Pakistan’s identity system,” the statement said.

The cancellation of 4.2m CNICs is part of the exercise to reconcile the records.

Nadra’s statement said: “To safeguard the integrity of the national database and prevent any potential misuse or fraudulent activity arising from identity records remaining active after death, Nadra therefore proceeded with the cancellation of such CNICs following verification through civil registration records.”

Nadra has already waived the cancellation fee and removed the requirement of depositing the CNIC of the deceased to encourage timely cancellation.  These facilitative measures had led to the voluntary cancellation of approximately 3m CNICs by families of deceased persons, according to the statement.

However, over 4.2m CNICs “remained active” even though the deaths had been registered in the civil registration systems, it added.

Nadra said it recognised that in rare instances, a death might have been reported erroneously or fraudulently by a relative.

In such cases, it added, if any citizen faced difficulty due to the cancellation of their CNIC after being marked deceased, they might visit the nearest Nadra registration centre. Upon biometric verification, the CNIC would be restored immediately without any fee, the statement said.

“The citizen will also be informed about the union council, town committee, or other local authority where the death was registered, along with details of the relative on whose report the death registration was made,” it said.

Moreover, Nadra had also initiated a nationwide outreach effort to “strengthen birth registration linkage with the national identity system”, the statement said.

“The authority has begun sending SMS notifications to the parents or guardians of approximately 14m children whose births have been registered in provincial or local government civil registration systems but who have not yet been registered with Nadra.

“Parents are being encouraged to complete the registration of their children with Nadra to obtain Child Registration Certificates (CRC / B-Forms) and formally include their children in the national identity system,” it stated.

To further facilitate citizens, the statement added, Nadra would soon introduce the facility for issuance of CRC/B-Form through its extensive NADRA e-Sahulat franchise network, making “child registration services more accessible across the country”.