November 06, 2008	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 7, 1429

UMERKOT, Nov 5: People complain of having to wait in long queues for days and weeks on end to obtain Computerised National Identity Cards and accuse officials at the Umerkot branch of the Nadra office of taking bribes for speeding up the process and saving the influential applicants from the frustrating experience of standing in queues.

Mohsin Rahimo, Ms Leelan and a number of other people who were waiting in a long line outside the Nadra office on Wednesday protested against the officials and said that many a time after waiting for hours they had to return empty handed in the evening without getting any encouraging response from the office.

They accused the officials of taking bribes for speeding process of CNICs preparation and said that only the influential could get their cards prepared in time.

They said that they also faced difficulty in getting ‘B’ form, which was a mandatory requirement for seeking admission to universities, getting dowry loan as well as seeking relief from Baitul Maal.

Nadra officials insisted on modification in the CNIC prior to issuing them B forms and the modification cost them Rs180 for each CNIC, they said.

Nadra officials dismissed the allegations of taking bribes and blamed shortage of staff and computers as well as frequent power breakdown for delay in cards’ delivery in time.