Another NADRA official arrested for issuing CNICs to foreigners illegally

KARACHI (Staff Report) - The Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Anti-Human Smuggling Cell has arrested another NADRA official, this time an Assistant Director, for allegedly issuing CNICs to Afghan nationals illegally.

The accused was arrested from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) regional office in Karachi.

Earlier, FIA officials informed an Anti-Corruption Court that Karachi NADRA officials had issued CNICs to over 25o foreigners in the current year.

A special team was working to identify those responsible, officials said.

According to a separate news report, Sindh Police has also arrested as many as nine criminals including seven Afghan refugees from different areas of Karachi.

NADRA has been put under scrutiny recently since the discovery of Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansour's valid Pakistani travel and identification documents near the site of the US drone strike in which he was killed the Saturday before last. He had been reportedly using these documents, issued under the alias Wali Muhammad, to travel freely between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.

Read more: Did Iran lie about “Wali Muhammad’s” visa? Shocking details emerge

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, responding to questions on how Mullah Mansour was able to obtain such documentation, said on Friday that he was uncertain how the Taliban chief had obtained valid travel and identification documents.

However, he added that corruption at various levels in NADRA and the Passport Office, both of which fall under his Ministry, could explain why illegal aliens were being issued valid travel and identification documents.

Related: Nisar gives six-month deadline for re-verification of all CNICs