ISLAMABAD: Dr Nazia Zia, who recently arrived from USA, was surprised when an official at a National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) centre asked her to wake her seven-week-old daughter and keep her eyes open for the camera to get a Nicop.

The National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop) is a registration document issued to a Pakistani citizen. Previously, it was only issued to Pakistanis staying abroad for a consecutive period of six months or those with dual nationalities but can now be issued to any Pakistani citizen.

“On October 14, I went to the Nadra centre in Blue Area to get a Nicop for my child. After getting a token, I waited for almost 45 minutes and was directed to proceed to one of the counters to complete the process,” Ms Zia told Dawn.

“A representative there asked me to wake the child for a photograph, or the card cannot be issued. I said how can I wake a seven-week-old baby and make her focus on the camera. But the representative did not budge and even started misbehaving,” she alleged.

She said after the birth of her baby in the US, she was issued an American passport and that the US authorities did not ask her to wake the baby for the picture.

Mr Ziauddin, the grandfather of the child and a former government servant, added that it was strange that even babies were required to open their eyes and focus on the camera at the Nadra centre.

“Moreover, the place where Nadra centre has been established is not suitable as there is no parking space for visitors. We paid Rs10,500 for a Nicop and expected better service but were disappointed. Chaudhry Nisar should address these issues,” he said.

Ms Zia is not the only citizen with such complaints. A large number of people suffer because of different reasons given by officials at the Nadra and passport offices.

Earlier, Ahmer Naqvi had to make a new CNIC because his pictures on the passport and the CNIC did not match – with his hair short in the CNIC and long in the passport.

Another citizen, Munir Ahmed, said there was a huge difference between the attitude of public sector institutions in Pakistan and developed countries.

“Some 15 days ago, one of my relatives, Afzal Younus, fell on a railway track from the platform in Milan, Italy, due to the the black color of the platform, which he could not see properly at night. As a result, his leg was fractured,” he said.

“Mr Younus was shifted to a hospital at government expenses and after providing him treatment a health worker accompanied him to Islamabad to brief the doctors here about the case history. He is now admitted to a private hospital in the capital,” he said.

“There is a need to change the behavior of officials in public sector organizations. It requires no money to pass a smile and speak politely,” he said.

When contacted, Nadra spokesperson Faiq Ali said the centre at Blue Area was the best with well mannered staff members.

“However, it is a requirement that the eyes of the applicant are open when the picture is taken. We do not allow the applicants to wear cap, glasses, etc., while being pictured. If the picture is taken with closed eyes, the software rejects it at some stage due to which the fee paid for the applicant is also lost,” he said, adding that there was no separate procedure for infants.

The centre at Blue Area is the largest in the country with a facility to process around 2,000 applications daily. There are around 30 counters and a sitting capacity for around 300 people.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2016