Eight NADRA staff under investigation after Afghan nationals caught with Pakistani IDs

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has asked for the records of eight National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) officials as part of an investigation into the alleged issuance of Pakistani identity cards to Afghan nationals.

The move followed the arrest of a NADRA officer accused of helping facilitate Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) for Afghan citizens. After that arrest, the FIA sought complete details of eight officials, including the officer who had already been taken into custody.

According to the information available, the agency has requested records of all approvals granted by these officials for the issuance of identity cards. It has also sought details of cases approved by them from 2022 onward.

The officials named in the inquiry include Uzair Khan, Qamar Rafiq, Rizwan Khan, Kashif Saleem Mohammad, Fahad, and former NADRA officer Khalid Hussain. The list also includes the official arrested earlier.

Airport case led to arrest

Earlier, the FIA’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Karachi arrested Furqan Ahmed after two suspects were offloaded at Jinnah International Airport.

The two men were identified as Habibullah and Naimatullah. They were attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia using Pakistani identity cards that had reportedly been approved by the arrested official.

The latest request for records appears to be part of the FIA’s broader effort to examine how the identity documents were processed and approved. The agency is reviewing the approvals linked to the officials under scrutiny and the cases handled by them over the past several years.

The inquiry centres on allegations that Pakistani CNICs were issued to Afghan nationals. The FIA has not concluded the matter, and investigations into the case are continuing.

The development comes after the airport interception of the two suspects triggered further scrutiny of the approval trail connected to the identity cards they were carrying. The FIA’s focus has now widened to include multiple NADRA officials whose records and past approvals are being examined.

Officials are looking into the documentation and approvals associated with the CNICs in question, including cases processed since 2022. The investigation remains under way.