PESHAWAR: Tribal elders from Mohmand district have urged the federal government to immediately restore thousands of computerised national identity cards (CNICs) blocked under Section 18 of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) law.

They insisted that the verification process for Mohmand residents’ CNICs was discriminatory.

During a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Monday, members of the Mohmand Loya Jirga, led by Saleem Khan Mohmand, said residents of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) were being asked to produce records dating back to 1978, including identity cards, passports and other documents.

They said most residents did not possess such records, leading to the blocking of thousands of CNICs in an unjustified move.

The elders warned frustrated Mohmand residents could leave for Afghanistan,

They also demanded the shifting of the Nadra verification centre for such residents from Charsadda to Mohmand district headquarters Ghalanai. The elders said hundreds of Mohmand people, including women and children, were being asked to travel to Charsadda for verification, to their misery.

They called upon the federal government to restore all CNICs suspended under Section 18 of the Nadra Ordinance, 2000, and introduce a new standard operating procedure for the verification of residents of merged tribal districts.

The elders complained that the current CNIC verification procedure was causing unnecessary difficulties for the people of Mohmand. They demanded an immediate end to that “discriminatory treatment” towards Mohmand residents.

The elders warned that if their demands were not met, they would stage street protests.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2026