This letter is in response to the letter titled ‘Justice Denied by NADRA’ by Amjad A. Baloch published in The Nation on April 2, 2018. The complainant has stated that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is denying a differently-abled person (monocular) his right to a CNIC for special persons. Firstly, it is pertinent to mention that in order to be eligible for a CNIC for special persons one must provide proof in the form of a Disability Certificate issued by Provincial Council Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons of a provincial government. NADRA is not a medical body nor can it verify the authenticity of disabilities without the approval of the concerned institution. To obtain a Disability Certificate, a medical checkup is conducted by a Medical Board at Social Welfare Offices in districts across the country, and only once this certificate has been issued can a citizen apply for Special CNIC. 

Chairman NADRA took immediate notice of this issue on the day of its publication and subsequently directed staff to contact the applicant. The applicant was contacted several times. However, it has been found that the applicant had never provided his Disability Certificate issued by Provincial Council Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons nor was he willing to provide it to the concerned officials at the time he was contacted. Instead, he is pressurizing NADRA staff into processing his CNIC upon medical prescriptions. Despite all this, the citizen has repeatedly published similar letters in various newspapers claiming that NADRA is ‘denying his right to justice.’ 

NADRA does not carry the mandate to issue Special CNICs independently, as it is simply the institution that processes cases based on certifiable medical evidence. This requirement acts as a safeguard to protect the rights of genuine differently abled persons who are to avail special advantages from the Special CNIC such as concession on air travel, financial entitlement to loans and free medical treatment to name a few. 

It is kindly requested that either the concerned citizen provide the necessary evidence in the form of a Disability Certificate issued by the concerned department in order for NADRA to process his CNIC for special persons, or he must desist from issuing further maligning news stories based on fabricated facts. 

FAIK ALI CHACHAR, Spokesman, 

National Database & Registration  

Authority (NADRA), Ministry of Interior, Govt. of Pakistan, Islamabad, May 5.