8.1m SIMs active on expired CNICs

The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) on Thursday warned citizens of additional fees and penalties for those who delay obtaining or renewing their identity documents. In a news release, the authority said that identity documents were issued for a specified time and it was every the responsibility of every adult citizen to ensure the timely renewal of their identity documents, particularly CNICs, before their expiry. "Failing this, essential services linked to these documents, including bank accounts, mobile phone SIMs, and other verification-based services may be adversely affected or suspended," it said. "Furthermore, citizens whose identity cards have expired may not be able to avail themselves of various government and welfare programmes, such as the Benazir Income Support Programme, government subsidy schemes, including the recently announced fuel subsidy scheme, as well as transactions like property and vehicle transfers," it added. "This results in unnecessary hardship for citizens due to their own oversight. Although Nadra is legally empowered to impose additional fees or penalties for delayed renewal, such measures have not yet been implemented in consideration of public convenience," the authority said. It said that according to available data at present, 27.475m national identity cards, 2.309m overseas cards, 11.65m child registration certificates, and 0.229m juvenile cards had expired. "In this regard, reminder messages have already been sent to citizens via SMS by Nadra, including specifically those parents whose children have reached the age of 18 but have not yet obtained their first National Identity Card," it said. The authority reminded that as per the public advisory issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on April 8, it was mandatory for mobile phone users to have a valid and active CNIC to ensure the continuity of services. "SIMs registered against identity cards that have expired or are in the name of deceased individuals may be blocked at any time. Currently, over 8.1m SIMs are active against approximately 4.5m identity cards that require renewal. Of these, more than 223,000 identity cards have been expired for over ten years without renewal," it said. Nadra has advised citizens to ensure the timely renewal of their identity cards to maintain uninterrupted mobile services. It also said that SIMs registered on the names of deceased relatives should be transferred to the CNIC of the current user. "All citizens have been asked to fulfil their legal responsibility by promptly renewing expired identity documents and ensuring the issuance of identity cards for individuals who have attained the age of 18," it said. "If no improvement is observed in the trends of document renewal, additional fees and penalties may be imposed in the next fiscal year after June on those citizens who delay obtaining or renewing their identity documents," it said.