Has your Pakistani identification expired? Well, we have bad news as you will have to pay double the amount to get your new cards.
According to a NADRA notification, the revised fees are effective today (Wednesday).
The fee for a normal ID card has been increased from Rs200 to Rs400. The charges for an executive card are now Rs2,500. They were Rs1,600 until yesterday. The urgent fee for a Computerised National Identity Card, commonly known as CNIC, is now Rs1,150. It used to be Rs500. The normal fee for a smart card has been increased from Rs300 to Rs750. On the other hand, the fee for overseas Pakistanis has been nominally decreased.
People criticised the move.
“This is injustice,” said a resident of Karachi. “While it should be a free service, they are charging us double the previous amounts now.”
A Hyderabad resident said NADRA is “taking advantage” of the upcoming election as people will get their expired ID cards renewed to be able to cast their votes.
Pak Sarzameen Party chief Mustafa Kamal also complained about NADRA’s revised fees. According to him, thousands of people in Karachi do not have their ID cards. “People are suffering, especially those living in areas like Orangi Town and Baldia Town.”
The current government's term ends May 31, after which a caretaker setup will take over and announce the election date. Without your national ID registered with NADRA, you cannot cast your votes.
