Pakistanis urged to cancel duplicate national ID cards

Thursday, Nov 11, 2010

Gulf News

Duplicate card holders cannot apply for Machine Readable Passports

Those holding two will face legal action

Abu Dhabi Pakistanis in the UAE who are holding duplicate Certified National Identity Card (CNIC) or National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP ) have been urged to cancel it before February 28.

The Pakistani Ministry of Interior yesterday warned that those who still hold the duplicate cards will not be able to apply for a Machine Readable Passport (MRP), according to a statement.

After the deadline, legal action will also be taken against them under the existing laws, the ministry warned.

CNIC is the card issued for the citizens living in the home country and NICOP is issued for those living overseas but Pakistanis are entitled to carry both these cards but not the duplicate one, a spokesperson of the Pakistani Consulate in Dubai told Gulf News yesterday.

Some Pakistanis are holding the duplicate ID card because when they lost the original card, they applied for the card again without reporting the loss of the original one, he said.

Some, who lost the receipt after applying for the card also applied for the duplicate card again and received it, the spokesman said.

In the event of loss of a card or the receipt of the application, the holder has to report the matter to Nadra (National Database and Registration Authority which issues the ID cards) counters in Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Pakistani Consulate in Dubai, before applying for a duplicate card, he said.

Passports

The electronic system to issue Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) has identified such holders and the system will prevent them from applying for MRPs, the spokesman said.

The number of Pakistanis holding duplicate cards in the UAE was not readily available. “It may be a few hundreds of people,” he said.

He said the ministry’s warning along with a deadline has come in the wake of a recent UAE decision to stop issuing visas to Pakistanis holding handwritten passports.

All Pakistanis are expected to apply for Machine Readable Passports now, but those holding duplicate ID card should first cancel them.

By Binsal Abdul Kader?Staff Reporter