QUETTA: Emir of Jamaat-i-Islami Senator Sirajul Haq has expressed solidarity with the people staging a protest outside the city’s press club against the alleged excesses of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and called upon its high-ups to ensure prompt preparation of computerised national identity cards (CNICs) of the affected people.

He visited the hunger strike camp of the protesters on Wednesday and asked about their problems. The protesters informed the JI chief that Nadra officials were creating hurdles in the preparation of new CNICs for the people from Balochistan. At every visit, new conditions are being made for the issuance of new CNICs and even the issuance of the cards of aged people and women takes months, sometimes years. On the other hand, CNICs are blocked creating problems for the card holders.

The JI chief called upon the government to give representation to all the “nationalities” in the local committees for the issuance of local certificates in Balochistan and stressed that the “a state within the state should be abolished”.

He said that the so called conditions being raised by the local Nadra officials should be done away with and people should be facilitated in the issuance of the cards.

Sirajul Haq also visited the protest camp of special people at the same venue and heard their grievances. Representatives of special persons told him about their problems. They complained that the government was not providing any concessions or facilities to them and they were being denied basic necessities of life.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2017