FIA arrests Nadra official ‘involved’ in issuing fake CNICs to Afghan nationals in Karachi

The Federal Investigation Agency said on Sunday it has arrested an official of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for his alleged “involvement” in issuing fake identity cards to Afghan nationals in Karachi.

As per a statement by an FIA spokesperson, the agency’s officials conducted a raid in the Metroville SITE area, where two Afghan nationals were arrested and found to be possessing “illegal Pakistani identity documents”.

The statement added that upon further investigation, it surfaced that a Nadra official, identified as Furqan Ahmed Khan Durrani, was “involved” in approving Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) issued to the two Afghan nationals.

Durrani was arrested in a subsequent raid carried out in Karachi’s Nursery area. The FIA statement said that action has been taken against the suspects under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

It added that FIA has obtained a three-day physical remand of the “arrested suspects” and further investigation was underway. It was unclear whether the remanded suspects included the Nadra official.

In September 2023, the government introduced the Illegal Fore­igners’ Repatriation Plan (IFRP), under which scores of Afghan nationals have returned to their country. To date, over 1.82 million Afghans have returned to their country since the start of the IFRP.

In 2024, Nadra, in collaboration with the FIA, exposed an illicit operation involving the unauthorised issuance of CNICs to foreigners.

A comprehensive internal review had pinpointed five Nadra employees who participated in the scheme.