ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has introduced a new system for online family tree verification and renewal of Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs). Under the system, Pakistani citizens can receive and verify the details of their family members via SMS on their mobile phones by sending an SMS to 8009 with their CNIC number and date of issue. In response, the sender receives his / her data / their family members.
“If any information is inaccurate or has the name of a stranger or unrelated person in the family, write 1 and text message to inform Nadra or go to a Nadra registration center to de-register that name” said agency chairman Tariq Malik in a statement on Saturday. If the information is correct, write 2 and send the SMS to confirm the information. In order to use the verification and renewal service, it is necessary to register the SMS with Nadra from the same mobile phone number that was entered in the Nadra registration center when searching for the identity card or the “B” form.
“If your cell phone number is not registered with Nadra, you can go to any Nadra center to register or change your cell phone number, and this option is provided free of charge in all Nadra registration centers,” the statement said.
As part of Covid-19 preventive measures, Nadra introduced the IT-based solution for online renewal of CNICs to prevent human interactions during the era of social distancing.
According to the system, “a Pakistani can check that no stranger or unrelated person is registered in his family. If there is an inadmissible entry, he should notify Nadra at the earliest,” the agency said.
Nadra has launched an awareness campaign entitled “Your family is safe, Pakistan is safe”.
The system would also help the agency screen foreigners illegally living in Pakistan, the statement said.
This issue was recently discussed during a visit by Prime Minister Imran Khan to Nadra Headquarters, where he discussed with Nadra authorities reports from the Security Service that foreign nationals living illegally in Pakistan also had CNICs and this needed to be verified.
Mr Malik told the Prime Minister that innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence would be used to rid the Nadra database of any kind of false entries and to detect forged identity cards.
The Prime Minister was also briefed on Nadra’s roadmap related to the Digital Pakistan Initiative.