LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claimed on Thursday to have arrested three union council secretaries in Multan over allegations that they illegally registered Afghan nationals in the Civil Registration Management System (CRMS) of Nadra and issued them birth certificates, enabling them to obtain Pakistani nationality on bogus documents.

According to an FIA spokesperson, Malik Khursheed, Mohammad Jaffar and Abdul Jabbar, all serving as secretaries of different union councils in Multan, were arrested on Wednesday in connection with a case registered by the FIA Anti-Corruption Circle (ACC), Multan.

The agency alleged that the accused officials had facilitated the registration of Afghan nationals in the Nadra database through the issuance of birth certificates.

The FIA spokesperson said the Afghan nationals subsequently used the allegedly bogus documents to obtain Pakistani nationality.

FIA says Afghan nationals used bogus documents to obtain Pakistan nationality

The arrests were made on the directions of FIA Multan Zone Director Irtaza Haider and under the supervision of FIA Circle Multan Deputy Director Ahsan Ali Hani Bajwa.

The agency said further investigation was under way to determine the extent of the alleged facilitation and identify other people who might have been involved in the process.

The FIA Multan team carried out the arrests as part of its action against the alleged illegal registration of Afghan nationals in Pakistan’s civil registration system.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2026