HYDERABAD, Sept 10: Pakhtuns in Sindh, after Balochistan and the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata), have been declared foreigners by Nadra officials, who are depriving them of their Computerised National Identity Cards, local Awami National Party (ANP) leaders said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference at the local press club, ANP Hyderabad district chief Javed Khan Pathan and other leaders said that Pakhtuns were facing great hardship in getting CNICs. They accused the officials of causing unnecessary delays in the issuance of the cards and adopting discriminatory attitude towards Pakhtuns.

They claimed that Nadra deputy director (operations) Ahmed Waqas Langah had issued an order on July 16 directing Nadra officials to issue CNICs of Pakhtun and Hazara people separately as their cases were being scrutinised differently. The cases of all other applicants should go through the normal process, according to the directive quoted by the ANP leaders.

They said that only one Nadra office was authorised to issue CNICs to Pakhtuns in Hyderabad where they had been facing a huge rush. They said that their cards were often rejected. They urged the chief justice of Pakistan and the Sindh chief minister to take notice of Nadra’s order which was creating hatred on ethnic basis.

They deplored that illegal immigrants, including Afghans, Bengalis, Indians and Biharis, could get cards easily while Pakhtuns could not. —Staff Correspondent