13 February 2004	Friday	21 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI, Feb 12: All citizens are obliged to register afresh and obtain new, computerized national identity cards under the National Database and Registration Authority Ordinance, 2000 , Nadra submitted in the Sindh High Court in its revised comments on Thursday.

The ordinance validated the old cards, issued under the repealed National Registration Act, 1973, for two years but empowered the federal government to extend the period of validity.

The two-year period expired on March 10, 2002, and had been extended from time to time till January 31, 2004. The cut-off date could not be extended indefinitely, particularly on the ground that an 'assumed' segment of the old card holders have yet to obtain the new CNICs, the detailed Nadra comments filed in supercession of the brief ones submitted on January 29, maintained.

A division bench comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and S. Ali Aslam Jafri, which found the Jan 29 Nadra reply unsatisfactory and stayed the 'cancellation' of the old cards till Feb 12, adjourned the hearing to Friday to enable petitioner-lawyer Shaukat Ali Shaikh to file his rejoinder to the Nadra comments. The stay order remains operative.

The Nadra comments, which were filed by Advocate M. Afnan, implied that there was no cancellation involved. The old, expired cards issued under a repealed law were temporarily extended by the federal government and not by the authority. Only the federal government was authorized to extend the validity period of the old cards.

The comments said the whole purpose and intent of the new law would be defeated if the old cards were allowed indefinite extension. The purpose was to collect an authentic database and issue such identity cards to the citizenry as could not be forged. The old NICs could easily be fabricated and the ordinance of 2000 aimed at eliminating them.

Nadra said in its comments that no money was being charged for rectifying mistakes in the cards issued by it. Fresh registration with it followed and evidenced by issuance of new cards was compulsory for every citizen.

The publication of a cut-off date for the validity of old cards generated a 'tremendous' response and 2,641,212 application forms were received in December 2003 and January 2004 as compared to a total of 4,659,593 forms received from January to November 2003.

The authority did not disclose how many of the applicants were furnished the new cards. It, however, emphasized that the issuance of NICs was a continuing process and had nothing to do with the expiry of the old cards. Computerized cards would continue to be issued, it said, implying that the old cards would remain valid for the purpose of seeking new cards.

It claimed that the authority was in a 'state of full preparedness' to do its job. It has a card production capacity of 100,000 daily. The data would be periodically updated as the new cards are valid for a specific period, it said.

UC NAZIM: The Sindh High Court on Thursday summoned a union council nazim allegedly interfering in implementation of a court order for demolition of an unauthorized structure.

An SHC division bench had ordered on September 4, 2003, demolition of additional unauthorized construction on plot number E-69, Block 4, Gulshan-i-Iqbal.

A petition against the violation was moved by a resident of the area and the court directed the owner-builder to pull down the violative structure within 15 days, failing which the KBCA would discharge its obligation.

The petition came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices Sabihuddin Ahmed and Zia Perwez on Thursday. The Karachi Building Control Authority submitted that the plot was owned by the wife of the nazim of union council number nine, Gulshan Town. The nazim did not allow the KBCA demolition squad to enter the premises when it went there to carry out the court order.

The KBCA said no civic agency was prepared to provide it assistance in complying with the court order. The matter had already been referred to the city nazim. The bench asked the UC nazim to appear on Feb 25 and answer the KBCA allegation.