PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court on Wednesday disposed of more than 100 petitions filed by Afghan nationals, with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards or Afghan Citizen Cards (ACCs), to seek certificates of Pakistani citizenship.

A bench consisting of Justice Wiqar Ahmad and Justice Farah Jamshed directed the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and other authorities to act on the matter in accordance with the law and earlier court judgements.

It will release the detailed order later.

The petitioners had sought directives of the court for Nadra and other authorities to issue them documentary evidence regarding the status of their respective applications submitted for cancellation of their ACCs or PoR cards.

Asks authorities to act on matter in accordance with law, court judgements

The petitions were filed by individuals who claimed that they had applied for the cancellation of their ACCs and other refugee-related documentation in order to seek recognition of their Pakistani nationality and obtain Pakistani identity documents.

Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel, Malik Shehbaz, Faheem Marwat, Mohammad Irfan and several other lawyers appeared for the petitioners and said that their clients were not being provided with any written acknowledgment, token, receipt, or documentary evidence indicating whether their applications were pending, under process, accepted, or rejected.

They contended that the absence of such documentation created uncertainty and prevented applicants from effectively pursuing their legal remedies.

During the hearing, some Nadra officials appeared before the court and produced a detailed report regarding the processing of applications for the cancellation of ACCs and other related documentation.

They said that more than 24,000 applications had been received for issuance of certificate of clearance under the Citizenship Act and cancellation of ACCs.

The officials said that around 2,200 applications had been approved, while more than 6,000 applicants did not pursue their cases after filing their applications.

They said a substantial number of applications had been rejected on the ground that the applicants were unable to establish their claim to Pakistani nationality.

Advocate Saifullah Kakakhel said that applicants should be provided with documentary proof reflecting the status of their cases, including whether an application was pending, under consideration, approved, or rejected.

He argued that the absence of any written acknowledgment undermined transparency and created serious difficulties for affected individuals seeking to protect their legal rights.

Moreover, discussion arguments also took place on multiple petitions related to issuance of Pakistan Origin Card (POC) to Afghan spouses of Pakistani nationals and the availability of grievance redressal mechanisms in nationality and identity-related cases.

The bench inquired about the functioning of the Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) and the procedure available to affected persons for lodging complaints.

The lawyers for the petitioners claimed that there was no practical and accessible mechanism through which applicants could directly approach the Committee or pursue grievances relating to delays, refusals, or other issues.

They suggested that at the very least, an official email-based complaint mechanism be introduced to enable affected individuals to submit complaints and supporting documents directly to the relevant authorities.

Various legal and factual issues concerning citizenship, identity rights, verification procedures, administrative transparency and the processing of nationality-related claims were also discussed during the proceedings.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2026