Category: 1. Pakistan

United States President Donald Trump’s lunch meeting with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir prompted a private diplomatic protest from India in a warning to Washington about risks to their bilateral ties while New Delhi is recalibrating relations with China as a hedge, officials and analysts said.

The meeting and other tensions in the US-India relationship, after decades of flourishing ties, have cast a shadow in trade negotiations, they said, as Trump’s administration weighs tariffs against one of its major partners in the Indo-Pacific.

India blames Pakistan, especially the military establishment, for supporting what it alleges is cross-border terrorism and has told the US it is sending the wrong signals by wooing Field Marshal Munir, three senior Indian government officials directly aware of the matter told Reuters.

It has created a sore spot that will hamper relations going forward, they said.

Pakistan has denied accusations that it supports militants who carried out an attack in Indian-occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam and that New Delhi has provided no evidence that it is involved.

US-India ties have strengthened in the past two decades despite minor hiccups, at least partly because both countries seek to counter China.

The current problems are different, said Michael Kugelman, a Washington-based senior fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation think tank.

“The frequency and intensity with which the US is engaging with Pakistan, and seemingly not taking Indian concerns into account, especially after India’s recent conflict with Pakistan, has contributed to a bit of a bilateral malaise.

“The concern this time around is that one of the triggers for broader tensions, that being Trump’s unpredictability, is extending into the trade realm with his approach to tariffs,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office and India’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The foreign ministry has previously said that it had “taken note” of the Trump-Munir meeting.

A US official said they do not comment on private diplomatic communications and that the US enjoys strong relationships with both India and Pakistan.

“These relationships stand on their own merits, and we do not compare our bilateral relationships with one another,” the US official said.

Lunch at the White House

The US seems to have taken a different tack on Pakistan after a brief conflict broke out between the nuclear-armed rivals in May when India launched strikes on what it called terrorist targets across the border in response to a deadly attack on tourists from the majority Hindu community in India-held Kashmir the previous month.

After four days of aerial dogfights, missile and drone attacks, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire.

India and Pakistan have skirmished regularly and fought three full-scale wars since independence in 1947, two of them over the Kashmir dispute.

A few weeks after the May fighting, Trump hosted Field Marshal Munir for lunch at the White House, a major boost in ties with the country, which had largely languished under Trump’s first term and Joe Biden. It was the first time a US president had hosted the head of Pakistan’s army at the White House unaccompanied by senior Pakistani civilian officials.

Indian leaders have alleged that COAS Munir’s view of India and Pakistan is steeped in religion. “Tourists were murdered in front of their families after ascertaining their faith,” Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in May, referring to the Pahalgam attack.

“To understand that, you’ve got to also see … you have a Pakistani leadership, especially their army chief, who is driven by an extreme religious outlook,” he claimed.

Pakistan says it is Modi who is driven by religious extremism, and that his brand of Hindu nationalism has trampled on the rights of India’s large Muslim minority. Modi and the Indian government say they do not discriminate against minorities.

COAS Munir’s meeting in the White House added to India’s chagrin over Trump’s repeated insistence that he averted nuclear war between the two nations by threatening to stop trade negotiations with them. The comment drew a sharp response from Modi, who told Trump that the ceasefire was achieved through talks between army commanders of the two nations, and not US mediation.

In the days following his June 18 meeting with COAS Munir, people from Modi’s office and India’s national security adviser’s office made separate calls to their US counterparts to register a protest, two of the officials said. The protest has not been previously reported.

“We have communicated to the US our position on cross-border terrorism, which is a red line for us,” said a senior Indian official. “These are difficult times … Trump’s inability to understand our concerns does create some wrinkle in ties,” he added, seeking anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Trump and COAS Munir discussed continuation of a counterterrorism collaboration, under which the US has previously provided weapons to Pakistan, a non-Nato US ally, and talked about ways to further strengthen ties, a readout of the meeting from the Inter-Services Public Relations said.

That raised concern in New Delhi that any arms Pakistan receives from the US could be turned on India if the neighbours end up in conflict again, two of the officials said.

Harder stance

Despite what used to be public displays of bonhomie between Trump and Modi, India has been taking a slightly harder stance against the US in recent weeks, while trade discussions have also slowed, the Indian officials and an Indian industry lobbyist said.

Modi declined an invitation from Trump to visit Washington after the G7 meeting in Canada in June.

Earlier this month, New Delhi proposed retaliatory duties against the US at the World Trade Organisation, showing trade talks were not going as smoothly as they were before the India-Pakistan clashes.

India, like other nations, is trying to figure out a way to deal with Trump and is recalibrating ties with China as a hedge, said Harsh Pant, foreign policy head at India’s Observer Research Foundation think tank.

“Certainly there is an outreach to China,” he said. “And I think it is mutual … China is also reaching out”.

Last week, India’s Jaishankar made his first visit to Beijing since a deadly 2020 border clash between Indian and Chinese troops.

India is also making moves to ease restrictions on investments from China that were imposed following the 2020 clash.

The thaw comes despite India’s prickly relations with China and Beijing’s close ties and military support to Pakistan.

But New Delhi’s concern about Trump’s own engagement with China, which has ranged from conciliatory to confrontational, appears to have contributed to its shift in stance on Beijing.

“With an unpredictable dealmaker in the White House, New Delhi cannot rule out Sino-US rapprochement,” said Christopher Clary, an associate professor of political science at the University at Albany, New York.

“India is troubled by Chinese help to Pakistan and growing Chinese influence elsewhere in India’s near abroad, such as Bangladesh. Yet New Delhi has largely concluded that it should respond to creeping Chinese influence by focusing its pressures on its nearest neighbours and not on China.”

At least three tourists were killed, four others were injured and 15 went missing after floods triggered by heavy rain swept through Gilgit-Baltistan’s (GB) Babusar area in Diamer district on Monday.

Monsoon rains, which fall across the region from June to September every year, continue to lash many parts of the country, prompting authorities to release an urban flooding warning for several cities.

According to Faizullah Firaq, spokesperson for the GB government, three bodies were recovered from flood debris today, while four injured people were transported to a hospital in Chilas.

“Fifteen other tourists have gone missing, as eight tourist vehicles were washed away in the raging flood,” Firaq said in a statement. “Medical assistance for the injured is ongoing, with one individual in critical condition.”

The spokesperson added that communication systems were disrupted due to a fibre optic break, while thousands of tourists were stranded and communication with their homes had been cut off.

“The government has successfully rescued hundreds of stranded tourists on Babusar Highway, and many have sought shelter with local residents,” Firaq said.

“The GB chief minister has ordered that all available resources be used to rescue those stranded. The Babusar Highway is closed at multiple points, with roads and farmland severely damaged.”

Meanwhile, Amir Khadam Khan, spokesperson for Rescue 1122 Mansehra, told Dawn.com that Jalkhad road in Naran was blocked by large stones and debris due to heavy rain in the area.

“According to initial reports, a car is stuck in the debris,” Khan said. “Fortunately, no loss of life or property has been reported so far.”

The National Highways Authority (NHA) deployed heavy machinery from nearby places to start the process of clearing the road and restoring traffic.

A Rescue 1122 ambulance also reached the scene to provide assistance in case of any possible emergency.

On June 29, the GB Disaster Management Authority issued a warning of increased risk of glacial lake outburst floods (Glof) and flash floods. The public and tourists were advised to avoid going near rivers, streams and other waterways, and avoid bathing or washing clothes in streams since the water flow can reach dangerous levels.

Three siblings die in Swat roof collapse

Separately, three children died and a woman was injured when a roof collapsed due to heavy rains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Gujjar Banda area in Madyan of Swat district on Monday night.

Shafiqa Gul, spokesperson for the Rescue 1122, North region, told Dawn.com that the incident occurred due to heavy rain.

She said that the house collapsed due to heavy rain, burying three children and a woman underneath.

“Three siblings and their mother were critically injured and moved to Civil Hospital Madyan for treatment,” she said, adding that a rescue team was immediately dispatched and reached the scene as soon as the control room in Swat received information.

She said that according to doctors, the three children died in the accident while their mother was seriously injured.

Monsoon rains in Punjab to continue until July 25: PDMA

A spokesperson for the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said that there will be more monsoon rains in the province until July 25, according to a statement.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the Malakand and Hazara divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the southern parts of Punjab and Sindh, eastern Balochistan and parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) were expected to receive rain and thunderstorms with strong winds.

Rain and thunderstorms were forecast for urban centres of Punjab in the south, such as Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan, though overall weather of the province was expected to remain partly cloudy and humid.

According to the PDMA, Punjab will receive a fourth wave of monsoon rains until July 25, which the authority says is “slightly more powerful”.

“Rain has been forecast in Rawalpindi, Murree, Galiat, Attock, Chakwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Gujarat, Jhelum and Gujranwala,” the statement read. “Rain is also expected in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Narowal, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Sargodha and Mianwali,” its statement read.

“Rain is also predicted in Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Multan.”

Punjab PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia announced that due to the heavy rain, there is a high possibility of increased water flow in rivers.

“A flood alert has been issued for rivers and canals in Punjab,” the statement quoted him as saying.

The PDMA warned that there is a possibility of increased flow in the Ravi, Jhelum, Sutlej and Chenab rivers, while stating that water flow in the Indus River was measured at 420,000 cusecs at the Taunsa barrage.

The Flood Forecasting Division showed that by 6pm, water flow at the Taunsa barrage stood at 383,456 cusecs.

“In the Indus River, there is a low-level flood at Tarbela, Kala Bagh and Chashma,” the PDMA said.

The PDMA DG said that on the instructions of the Punjab chief minister, an alert has been issued to all administrations across the province.

“Deputy commissioners have been instructed to remain in the field, while Section 144 should be imposed along the banks of rivers and canals,” Kathia said, instructing police to increase patrols along waterways.

The DG added: “All relevant departments, including Wasa, Rescue 1122 and district administrations, should be on alert. The drainage of standing water from low-lying areas must be ensured, as must the deployment of machinery and staff at choke points.”

Kathia further ordered that disposal stations be kept functional, while urging people in private housing to ensure adequate drainage. He warned that those unable to ensure drainage would face action.

He also urged the public to take precautionary measures amid heavy rain, such as keeping away from electric pylons and appliances during a storm and avoiding houses made from mud or in dilapidated condition.

So far, 123 people have been killed and 462 injured since June 25 as the province received record rainfall, triggering urban flooding which inundated residential areas, the PDMA said last week. Of these, 71 deaths were reported in the past two days alone.

The seat-adjustment arrangement between the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and opposition arrangement came through in the Senate elections in the province on Monday — with the treasury winning six and the opposition bagging five seats, according to unofficial results.

The treasury and the joint opposition alliance had agreed on a seat-sharing formula under which six seats would go to the treasury, which has 92 members in the KP Assembly, and five seats to the opposition, which is 53-strong.

On Sunday, it emerged that what initially shaped up to be a three-way contest — among PTI, PTI “dissidents” and opposition lawmakers — turned out to be almost a two-way match after the size of PTI’s “disgruntled” faction was effectively reduced to just one candidate.

PTI’s Murad Saeed, Faisal Javed, Mirza Afridi and Noorul Haq Qadri were elected as senators on general seats, according to the unofficial results.

Murad Saeed received 26 votes, Mirza Afridi and Faisal Javed both bagged 22, and Noor-ul-Haq Qadri 21.

PTI’s Azam Swati was elected on a technocrat seat with 89 votes. Similarly, PTI’s Rubina Naz became a senator on a women’s seat with 89 votes.

Federal Minister for Gilgit Baltistan and Kashmir Affairs and States and Frontier Regions Amir Muqam’s son Niaz Ahmed reached the upper house by with 18 votes on a general seat.

PPP’s Talha Mehmood bagged a Senate seat with 18 votes. PPP’s Rubina Khalid was elected as a senator on women’s seat with 52 votes.

JUI-F’s Attaul Haq won on a general seat and the party’s Dilawar Khan on a technocrat seat to become members of the upper house with 18 and 54 votes, respectively.

On Sunday, Twenty-five MPAs-elect of the KP opposition were sworn into office after KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered their oaths.

The oath-taking issue has risen once again after the recent redistribution of reserved seats in the wake of a verdict by the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench that effectively took away the seats from the PTI and declared other political parties eligible for them.

Earlier in the month, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) finally announced the schedule for the long-overdue Senate elections in KP, setting July 21 as the polling date.

The much-delayed but suspenseful exercise saw elections on 11 seats — seven general and two each reserved for women, ulema and technocrats.

Currently, the ruling coalition has 54 members in the 96-member Senate — 10 short of the two-thirds majority (64 seats).

A separate election for the seat vacated by Senator Sania Nishtar is scheduled for July 31.

According to an ECP statement, the Senate elections in KP were delayed due to an incomplete electoral college. The schedule was announced two days after 25 reserved seats — originally allocated to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) — were redistributed among parties, including PML-N, PPP, JUI-F, PTI-P and ANP.

The elections were earlier postponed in April 2024, exacerbating political uncertainty in the province. Polling for another Senate seat — vacated after the death of Professor Sajid Mir — will also take place on July 21.

Punjab Senate seat by-election won by PML-N’s Hafiz Abdul Kareem

The by-election on a vacant Senate seat in Punjab was won by PML-N’s Hafiz Abdul Kareem with 243 votes, according to official results from the ECP.

The PML-N had nominated the emir of the Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith, as its candidate for the seat, which fell vacant after the demise of Professor Mir.

The total available votes were 368, with 345 polled votes, of which valid votes were 342, while three were rejected.

In a speech after his victory, Kareem thanked God and mentioned that he was grateful to PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

“I thank Mian Nawaz Sharif, who always remained loyal to Jamiat Ahle Hadith,” Kareem said.

He added that he was also deeply grateful to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, whom he credited for his victory.

“She left work in the flood-affected areas and cast her vote for me,” Kareem said.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday officially launched a digital system for the licensing and registration of medical devices in Pakistan, marking a significant milestone in modernising the country’s healthcare regulation.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony held in the federal capital, the Prime Minister congratulated Federal Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) director-general, acknowledging their efforts in bringing clarity and efficiency to the regulatory process.

“I wholeheartedly congratulate the federal health minister and the DRAP DG for establishing a transparent system for the licensing and registration of medical devices,” he said. “Everyone involved deserves recognition for this achievement.”

Reflecting on past challenges, Shehbaz Sharif criticised DRAP’s historic inefficiency, referring to it as “DRAG,” a play on words suggesting how it stalled progress for years. He recalled a tragic incident from 2010–11 at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology, where patients lost their lives due to substandard medication.

“I had two drug samples tested – one sent to London, the other to France. Despite DRAP claiming the medicines were fine and mishandled locally, international reports revealed they weren’t even for heart conditions—they were antimalarial drugs,” he revealed.

Highlighting this as an example of DRAP’s past negligence, the Prime Minister praised the current leadership and reforms that have transformed the institution.

“Today, DRAP has reached a point where it can be proud of its progress. This success began during the previous coalition government and continues under competent leadership,” he said.

He also praised Health Minister Mustafa Kamal for his dedication, referencing his impactful tenure as Mayor of Karachi and his ongoing commitment to restoring long-neglected healthcare facilities.

“A hospital gifted by a friendly nation and a burn unit had remained closed for years. Thanks to Mustafa Kamal’s efforts, these are now being revived,” he added. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday launched the Digital System for Licensing and Registration of Medical Devices, which will accelerate the registration process, state media Radio Pakistan reported.

The registration of life-saving medical devices and diagnostic products in Pakistan became a critical issue earlier this year.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) was under scrutiny over “sluggish” and “highly inefficient” operations for the approval and registration of medical devices. According to the chairman of Healthcare Devices Association of Pakistan, the situation was causing heavy financial losses to importers and disrupting patient care in hospitals.

Speaking at the launch ceremony in Islamabad, he said that the process will be completed in the shortest possible time, stating: “Now, decisions will be made swiftly and transparently.”

The premier hoped that the applications for registration of medical services and equipment would be decided within 20 days in a transparent and merit-based system, according to APP.

He criticised Drap for inordinate delays in the registration process of medical services, saying. “Drag, not Drap, as it was dragging the process not for months but for years. The reasons were known to all.”

While citing issues in the health sector, he recalled an incident during his tenure as the Punjab chief minister, when Drap failed to properly handle certain drugs — meant to treat malaria — to treat heart patients, causing several deaths in the Punjab Institute of Cardiology.

He also discussed that the government allocated a huge budget for the provision of free of cost medicines at the government-run hospitals during 2014-15. He was quoted as saying, “The 60 per cent samples of those drugs proved below standards.”

He added that he ensured provision of quality medicines free of cost and set up laboratories across the province to facilitate the poor and deprived people.

The prime minister said that if they decided to bring about revolution in the health sector, it might be a difficult task, but not impossible.

“There may be mountain-like hurdles, but if we decide with determination to negotiate them and move ahead, then nothing can hamper the way towards progress and prosperity. The hard work does not go in vain,” he stated.

Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal also spoke during the ceremony. He said that they had squeezed the time through an online digitisation system spanning over 20 days, contrary to earlier long periods of registration process.

He was quoted as saying, “The system would be free from any human contact as the certificates would be available online without visiting Drap.”

Kamal said that the government was utilising available resources to overcome issues in the health sector, including population growth and waterborne diseases.

“We are further improving the healthcare system with public-private partnership,” he said, adding the primary healthcare system would be strengthened further to reduce the burden at the main healthcare centres.

“The registration and licensing of everything from wheelchairs to MRI machines would be done online. Citizens could submit online applications from home to obtain registration and licensing of medical devices.”

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani authorities have arrested at least 13 individuals, including a tribal leader, in connection with the killing of a couple in the southwestern province of Balochistan.

The arrests followed nationwide outrage over a video depicting the murders went viral on social media, with many calling it yet another case of “honour killing” – a phenomenon reported from across South Asia.

The first information report (FIR) filed by the police on Monday identifies the couple as Bano Bibi and her husband Ehsan Ullah, and says they were likely killed in May near Balochistan’s capital Quetta.

Honour killings, mainly reported from Pakistan and India, often arise from perceived family, tribal or caste dishonour, especially in love marriages, in which the two partners marry without the consent of their families or tribe, or elope. Many such killings go unreported.

Balochistan police official Syed Suboor Agha told Al Jazeera they are investigating the matter and are likely to make more arrests, including Bano’s brother, who is suspected of the murders and “is still at large”.

The viral videos of the killings show a group of armed men gathered around vehicles in a deserted area. Bano is ordered by the crowd to stand away from the vehicles as the couple is pumped with bullets, even on their motionless bodies lying bleeding on the sand.

The FIR names eight suspects while also listing 15 other unidentified suspects involved in the incident.

According to the FIR, the couple was allegedly brought before local tribal leader Sardar Sherbaz Khan, who declared them guilty of engaging in an “immoral relationship” and ordered that they be killed.

‘Tyranny of medieval practices’

Pakistan has a dismal record on “honour killings” and other forms of violence against women.

According to Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO), an Islamabad-based independent organisation, more than 32,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported nationwide in 2024, including 547 instances of “honour killings” – 32 of them in Balochistan and only one resulting in conviction.

Harris Khalique, general secretary of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), the country’s leading rights watchdog, said the killings in the name of honour confirm the “tyranny of medieval practices” still entrenched in many parts of Pakistan.

“The state, instead of establishing the rule of law and ensure the right to life of its citizens, has protected the tribal chiefs and feudal lords who guard such practices to perpetuate their power over local people and resources,” Khalique told Al Jazeera.

Mineral-rich Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populous province, has also witnessed decades of conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists, who demand secession from the country.

Rights activist Sammi Deen Baloch, also a member of a Baloch women’s rights group, said killing of women has become “a matter of routine” in the province.

“In Balochistan, women are murdered for love, disappeared for protest, and buried under layers of tribal authority and state-backed silence. These are not isolated tragedies. They are the cost of a system designed to keep Balochistan obedient, and its women expendable,” she told Al Jazeera.

Baloch said the government would not have acted on the murders had the video not gone viral.

“Baloch women are trapped between two forms of violence: the brutality of tribal patriarchy, and the cold repression of the state. One kills in silence, the other kills in the name of law,” she said.

“The state’s refusal to democratise Balochistan isn’t accidental. It is policy. By outsourcing governance to feudal strongmen, the state keeps the region controlled, its women disposable, and its dissent criminal.”

After Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur failed to appear in the hearing again, a district and sessions court in Islamabad issued an arrest warrant for him in the weapons and liquor recovery case.

Resuming the hearing today, the arrest order was issued by judicial magistrate Mubashir Hassan after he rejected Gandapur’s plea seeking exemption from personal appearance.

Hassan ordered authorities to arrest the KP chief executive by tomorrow (July 22) and produce him before the court.

Prior to this order, the Islamabad court issued Gandapur’s arrest warrants two days ago in the same case and granted the final opportunity to the firebrand politician to record his statement under Section 342.

It also warned that the court may issue a verdict in his absence, and failure to do so could forfeit his right to record the statement.

The order read that the case had been pending for eight years, and the prosecution recorded testimonies of witnesses since May last year.

Expressing displeasure over Gandapur’s absence in the hearing, the court said that the KP CM was deliberately avoiding recording his statement.

The development came a week after KP CM Gandapur announced launching the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s “do-or-die” protest movement from Lahore.

The former ruling party had formally launched its anti-government campaign, set to reach its “peak” by August 5, following the directives of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan.

The Lahore High Court on Monday issued a stay order against the proposed auction of several commercial shops in Jaranwala, following a writ petition filed by 40 long-time tenants opposing the move.

Justice Malik Javaid Iqbal Wains heard the case and restrained authorities from proceeding with the auction, which was scheduled for July 25, 2025.

Filed through Advocate Chaudhry Shoaib Saleem, the petition stated that many of the petitioners had been operating businesses at the same locations since shortly after the creation of Pakistan. Some shops were constructed by the tenants under a public-private initiative in 2005, while others were developed by the municipal administration and leased through oral and later written agreements.

The petitioners argued that they signed formal tenancy agreements in December 2023 under Punjab Local Government policies and a 2019 notification issued by the Secretary of Colonies. They said they have consistently paid rent — with a 10% annual increase — and none are in arrears.

Despite this, the Deputy Commissioner of Faisalabad issued a public auction notice that included the already-leased shops. The petitioners contended that this action violates Section 94(7) of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2022, and infringes on their constitutional rights under Articles 4, 10-A, 14, and 18.

They also noted that each tenant had deposited substantial security amounts — around Rs 500,000 per shop — which remain with the government.

The court, after hearing preliminary arguments, stayed the auction and adjourned the matter for further proceedings. The petitioners have requested the court to declare the auction notice unlawful and to prevent any coercive actions against them.

Respondents in the case include the Punjab Chief Secretary, Secretary of Local Government, Secretary of the Colonies Department, Deputy Commissioner Faisalabad, and Assistant Commissioner Jaranwala.

• CRC with biometrics mandatory after age three.
• FRC now valid for legal, inheritance matters.
• No legal action on voluntary illegal card returns.

KARACHI: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has announced the establishment of three major new registration centres in Karachi to ease the burden on existing facilities and improve service delivery.

Speaking to journalists, Nadra spokesperson Syed Shabahat Ali said that the new centres will be set up in Malir Cantonment, Malir, and Surjani Town.

He further said that several changes have also been made to the national identity registration laws to resolve public grievances. He noted that certificates of birth, death, marriage, and divorce were being issued by Union Councils.

Furthermore, children’s photographs have been added to the ‘B-Form’, with child registration certificates (CRC) issued using the old method — without a photo — for children under the age of three.

For children above three, CRCs will include a photograph and biometric data, which will remain valid up to the age of 10. From age 10 to 18, a new CRC with both photo and biometric information will be mandatory.

The spokesperson added that previously issued B-Forms will remain valid, but new CRCs will be required to obtain passports. Passports cannot be issued using the old B-Form. Each child will now be issued a separate B-Form.

He highlighted that Nadra’s application can now provide complete family details, and any errors or omissions in the Family Registration Certificate (FRC) can be rectified.

People who have illegally obtained Nadra identity cards are being given the opportunity to return them voluntarily, without facing any legal consequences at present, he added.

The FRC has now been declared a legal document and will be accepted in inheritance and other key legal matters. It will be categorised according to various family structures. Married women have been given the option to list either their father’s or husband’s name on their identity cards.

Shabahat Ali also said that investigations are ongoing against all employees involved in corrupt practices, including former Nadra chairpersons, adding that there is zero tolerance for corruption within the organisation.