LAHORE (Kashmir English): The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has taken a big step for citizens deprived of identity cards, providing a conditional facility to get an identity card without a birth certificate.
According to NADRA, this facility will be effective for first-time registration until December 31, 2026. The identity of the applicant will be verified through alternative methods.
The biometric verification of married women will be mandatory for those aged 18 or above, and they must have a marriage certificate, have their father’s, mother’s, or husband’s identity cards.
The conditions related to husbands will not apply to unmarried women, and a man aged 24 or above must have his father’s or mother’s and one sibling’s identity cards. Biometric verification of one of the parents will be mandatory.
If both parents and the husband are deceased, but there is a record in NADRA, then a waiver on biometrics will be available. For the first time, a non-smart card will be issued without any fee.
Citizens should ensure correct information at the time of registration. Parentage, date of birth, and place of birth cannot be changed.
On the instructions of the Federal Minister of Interior and Narcotics Control, NADRA has clarified the method of facilitation.
The NADRA Authority Board has also approved it. The facility has been provided under the NADRA Ordinance and CNIC rules and regulations.
Number of Pakistanis registered at NADRA!
A total of 227 million citizens are registered with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), amounting to 97% of the country’s total population.
This was revealed in the NADRA’s annual report submitted to the Ministry of Interior.
According to the report, over 31m births registered with Union Councils are yet to be added to Nadra’s central database.
NADRA spokesperson
A NADRA spokesperson gave a gender-wise bifurcation of the registered citizens, of which 48% are women and 52% are men.
Furthermore, the authority, he added, possesses a facial recognition record of 170 million citizens along with 1.68 billion fingerprints and seven million retinal scans.
The authority witnessed an 11% overall increase in registration, 18% surge in childbirth registrations along with 8% increase in that of women.
With a total of 938 Nadra registration centres operational in the country, 75 new registration centres were established in 2025 along with 138 new counters.
Additionally, the Pak ID mobile application has taken over 15% of Nadra’s responsibility, with its downloads surpassing 12 million, the report said.
