THE other day, I visited a National Saving Centre branch where I maintain my account. There was an elderly lady patiently waiting for the manager to end her telephone call clasping a couple of papers in her hand. As the manager ended her rather longish conversation, the lady requested her to attest the papers she was holding. The manager curtly shooed her off telling her that she didn’t undertake attestations. The lady asked her again for help since there was no other government office nearby and she needed to get these papers attested but the manager refused and the lady left, rather dismayed.

A year or so back, I wrote to the director general of military lands and cantonments to whom we have to submit attested copies of several documents every year to obtain the tax exemption entitled to retirees and suggested to him that in this era of multiple means of verification, the need to attest the documents may be dispensed with. I got no answer.

The attestation of documents is obligatory in several situations. Retired government servants have to give a six monthly ‘life certificate’ duly attested by a grade 17 officer stating that they are alive on the date that the certificate is given. This is an obligatory requirement to continue earning your pension!

However, there is a glimmer of hope. NADRA has wisely dispensed with this requirement for the issue and renewal of CNICs. Why cannot this archaic practice of attestation of documents be entirely dispensed with?

The process involves the finding of a gazetted officer who is a kind soul (a tall order this) who will oblige and affix their signature and seal on the supplicant’s — pun intended — documents.

In India, the exercise of attestation has been done away with. Why indeed can Pakistan not follow and resort to electronic means of verification where essential. This is already being done successfully by excise and taxation officers for vehicle renewal registration and several other places where public dealing is involved.

Abolishing this archaic and obsolete past time will save hundreds of thousands of poor souls from passing through unnecessary agony.

A.Y. Abdullah
Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2020