PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Friday asked the interior ministry and National Database and Registration Authority to respond in writing to a petition filed against the blocking of the computerised national identity cards of 15 members of a family.

A bench consisting of Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani and Justice Syed Afsar Shah began preliminary hearing into the petition filed by Ghani Gul and his 14 family members challenging the blocking of their CNICs by the Nadra.

The bench decided to issue notices to ministry of interior and Nadra asking them to explain their position over the issue.

Arbab Sheraz, lawyer for the petitioners, said his client were permanent residents of Tanghi area in Charsadda district.

He said some Nadra officials had entered the name of an Afghan national, Musafar Khan, in the family tree of Ghani Gul in 2010.

Charsadda residents took Nadra to court for including Afghan in their family tree

The lawyer said after learning about the illegal act, his clients filed a complaint with Nadra and sought the removal of the Afghan national’s name from their family tree and cancelation of his CNIC.

He said Nadra however blocked the CNICs of his clients in 2013instead of taking action against own officials involved in the wrongdoing.

The lawyer said despite repeated requests, Nadra didn’t unblock his clients’ CNICs and instead, issued show cause notices to them for cancellation of their citizenship under Section 18 of the Nadra Ordinance.

He said Nadra’s act was illegal and unconstitutional as his clients as well as their forefathers were Pakistani nationals for being permanent residents of Charsadda.

The lawyer said the petitioners had submitted all evidence of their innocence in the case to Nadra.

He requested the bench to order the cancelation of Nadra notices and direct Nadra to end the blocking of CNICs of petitioners.

REPLY SOUGHT: The bench also asked the local government secretary to file response to a petition filed by 16 class-IV employees of the Mardan tehsil municipal administration against the termination of their services.

Asad Khan, lawyer for Shah Zaman and other petitioners, said his client were appointed to the TMA in June 2015 and that their services were regularised in Dec 2015.

He added that when the present local council setup became functional, the members of Mardan tehsil council passed a resolution for termination of his clients’ services.

The lawyer said the councillors intended to recruit people of own choice to the TMA and therefore, they called for the sacking of his clients.

He said on the basis of the resolution in question, the local government department removed his clients from job.

The lawyer said the LG department’s act was illegal as the services of petitioners after regularisation couldn’t be terminated in ‘such a manner’.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2016