In a ruling that may become a precedent for many other cases, the Sindh High Court has ordered the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) to issue Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) to a woman who doesn’t know the whereabouts of her father and was brought up by a single parent, her mother.
Rubina is a differently-abled person. Years ago, her father left his wife and a young Rubina never to return.
She was brought up by her mother, who fortunately had a government job.
When Rubina turned 18 and went to a local NADRA office to obtain her CNIC, she was told that the card would not be issued unless she furnished the record of both her parents.
It is a problem that several orphans have faced in the past. Editorials have been written on the issue.
Rubina is not an orphan but she does not know the whereabouts of her father.
“When I went to the NADRA office, they refused to issue the CNIC saying ‘bring your father or any other gaurdian.’ Where could I have found my father, who left me and my mother when I was young,” she says.
She finally filed a petition with the court and justice prevailed.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the NADRA to issue the CNIC to Rubina based on her mother’s citizenship record.
Advocate Usman Farooq says the ruling would apply to similar cases and children with single parents would be able to get their CNICs after producing the record of only a single parent.
The SHC order has opened the possibility for Rubina to get a public sector job. Her mother is about to retire from the Education Department and the position could be given to Rubina.
