LAHORE: A special court (central) on Friday extended the interim bail of three officials of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) until June 4 in a case pertaining to the issuance of fake passports and computerised national identity cards (CNICs) to Afghan nationals.

Judge Ashfaq Ahmad heard the case and directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to submit an investigation report on the matter at the next hearing.

The suspects – Syed Abdi Hussain Zaidi, Muhammad Mansha and Zubaida Chaudhry – who had sought interim bail fearing arrest in the case, appeared before the court.

According to the FIA, the suspects, along with others, including Daniyal Aziz, Umar Farooq, Javed Iqbal and Majid, were allegedly involved in preparing fake CNICs and passports for Afghan nationals.

Investigators alleged that the suspects were working as data entry operators at Nadra and, in collusion with one another, facilitated the issuance of fraudulent documents.

The FIR stated that nearly 12,000 Afghan nationals in Saudi Arabia surrendered Pakistani passports to Saudi authorities, admitting they were not Pakistani nationals.

Following the surfacing of the scandal in Saudi Arabia, the FIA launched an inquiry into the matter.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2026