FIA Multan Zone Takes Two NADRA Bahawalpur Officials Into Custody
The Federal Investigation Agency has arrested two officials of the National Database and Registration Authority’s Bahawalpur office for allegedly issuing Pakistani identity cards to Afghan nationals. The action was carried out by the FIA’s Multan Zone during an operation in Bahawalpur, officials said.
The detained officials have been identified as Shahzad Ahmed and Asif Bashir. Both were taken into custody during the operation, and cases have been registered against them under the NADRA Ordinance, relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The arrests mark yet another case in which NADRA officials were arrested for allegedly putting fake identity documents into the hands of non-citizens — a pattern the FIA says it is determined to break.
What the NADRA Officials Are Accused Of
According to officials, the two NADRA officials allegedly used their positions at the Bahawalpur office to issue national identity cards to Afghan nationals who were not entitled to them. A CNIC is the foundation of a citizen’s official identity in Pakistan — it opens the door to passports, bank accounts, mobile SIM registration and voting — which is why its fraudulent issuance is treated as a serious offence.
Cases have been registered under three legal frameworks: the NADRA Ordinance, the Pakistan Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Investigators are now expected to dig into how the cards were issued, whether fake documents were used in the applications, and whether anyone else at the office — or outside it — was part of the arrangement.
Part of a Wider Crackdown on Fake CNICs
This is not an isolated case. The FIA has been steadily tightening the net around NADRA staff involved in similar rackets in recent months.
On October 1, the Counter Terrorism Wing of the FIA had another NADRA official arrested — Assistant Director Aftab — on allegations that he accepted a bribe of Rs120 million to restore the cancelled CNICs of 51 Afghan nationals. Investigators said he used part of the money to purchase property in Havelian and Islamabad’s G-15 sector, and recovered Rs1.9 million in cash from his residence.
In July, the FIA arrested four suspects in Karachi — NADRA Assistant Director Imamul Haq, Deputy Assistant Director Fayyaz Ahmed, a watchman named Junaid Ahmed and a private agent, Muhammad Umar Shah — accused of issuing fraudulent identity documents to Afghan nationals and tampering with official records. Preliminary investigations in that case also pointed to alleged links between the network and militant elements, underscoring why the authorities view fake identity documents as a national security concern, not just an administrative fraud.
A month earlier, in June, the FIA had four more NADRA officials arrested in Charsadda, including Assistant Director Waqar Ahmad, on similar allegations of illegally issuing CNICs to Afghan nationals.
Why Fake CNICs Are a Serious Concern
A fraudulently obtained Pakistani identity card does far more than give someone a piece of plastic. With a CNIC in hand, a non-citizen can apply for a Pakistani passport, open bank accounts, register mobile connections and travel within the country without scrutiny. When these documents fall into the wrong hands, they can be exploited by criminal networks — and, as investigators have noted in at least one recent case, potentially by militant elements as well.
For NADRA, the recurring arrests of its own staff are an embarrassment for an institution built on the promise of a secure national identity system. Each new case chips away at public trust in the registration process, which is why the authority and the FIA have both been under pressure to show that internal accountability is real.
What Happens Next
The two Bahawalpur officials are now in FIA custody, and the registered cases will move through the legal process. Investigators are likely to examine NADRA’s internal records — system logins, form verifiers and the documents attached to the suspect applications — to establish exactly how the cards were issued and whether the practice went beyond the two men now in custody.
Given the pattern of arrests this year, more action is expected. The FIA has signalled that its campaign against fraudulent CNIC issuance will continue, and NADRA itself faces mounting pressure to tighten its internal checks so that its own staff cannot turn the identity system into a marketplace.
Sources: FIA statements reported in national media on October 23, 2026. (File photo: NADRA headquarters.)
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