NADRA DG suspended over fake degree

Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has dismissed Director General Zulfiqar Ahmed after an investigation confirmed his degrees were forged.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) found that his MBA degree bore the signature of someone who was not the president of George Mason University at the time and his BBA degree listed a college that had changed by the time it was issued. The Islamabad High Court upheld the HEC’s decision to cancel the equivalence of his degrees prompting NADRA to issue a show-cause notice to Ahmed. 

Since he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation, NADRA’s chairman took disciplinary action leading to his dismissal. In addition, NADRA disclosed that over the past five years, more than 71000 Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) have been blocked across Pakistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had the highest number of blocked CNICs, with 25981 followed by Balochistan with 20583. 

Punjab had 13564 blocked cards, while Sindh had the lowest at 9677. Other regions, including Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir also experienced blocked CNICs.

After verification, 44460 CNICs were unblocked while investigations into 13618 blocked cards are still ongoing. The Sindh government has also requested an amendment to the Citizenship Act to address issues related to blocked CNICs and improve the citizen verification process.