CNIC (Pakistan)

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Computerised National Identity Card
(کمپیوٹرائزڈ قومی شناختی کارڈ)
TypeIdentity document
Issued byNational Database & Registration Authority (NADRA)
First issued1973 (paper-based)
2000 (computerised card)
2012 (smart card)
Valid in Pakistan
EligibilityPakistan Pakistani citizenship
Expiration10 years (No expiry after bearer has exceeded 60 years of age)
CostFree (NIC)
PKR 750 (SNIC)[1]

The Computerised National Identity Card (SNIC) (Urdu: قومی شناختی کارڈ) is an identity card issued by Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). The card is available to any citizen of Pakistan who is 18 years of age or older and for teenAger are also (SNIC) Also known as juvenile card. The SNIC is a computerised version of the National Identity Card (NIC).

History[edit]

Pakistan initiated its National Identity Card System in 1973 under Article 30 of the Second Amendment.[2] The card was issued manually in a hand-written paper form by the Directorate General of Registration (DGR) with the first NIC being that of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the Prime Minister of the time.[3][4] The country moved to a Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) in 2000 after the formation of National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA). The CNIC issuance required the applicant to provide the state with digital fingerprint biometrics. and thus set the stage for the first citizen data warehouse in the country. NADRA subsequently launched the Smart National Identity Card (SNIC) in 2012 which is a chip-based ID card with transliteration of cardholders bio-data to English.[3]

Documents Required[edit]

To get Pakistani citizenship, you should visit nearest NADRA center in your city, an applicant must bring original CRC also known as B-form. CRC can be taken by providing documented proof of child birth from union council. Parent is required to be a holder of National Identity Card (NIC), for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP).

Provide B-Form certificate & bring one of your parents along with their original Pakistani National Identity Card (NIC), in case of death you can provide original death certificate issued by the government, or you can also bring one of your siblings (if have any) with their original Pakistani National Identity Card CNIC.

Requirement[edit]

A Pakistani man holds a SNIC that entitles him to a flood relief voucher.

In Pakistan, all adult citizens must register for the Computerised National Identity Card (SNIC) with a unique number upon reaching the age of 18. It serves as an identification document to authenticate an individual's identity as the citizen of Pakistan. Before introduction of the CNIC, manual National Identity Cards (NICs) were issued to citizens of Pakistan. Today, the Government has shifted all its existing records of National Identity Cards (NIC) to the central computerised database managed by NADRA. New SNIC's are machine-readable and carry facial and fingerprint information.

Every citizen is required to have a NIC number, and the number is required for many activities such as voting in elections, getting a driver licence or passport, registering a vehicle, receiving social insurance/Zakat funding, enrolling in school, college or technical institute, filing a legal affidavit, wiring funds, paying taxes, opening a bank account, getting a utility connection (electricity, phone, mobile phone, water and sewer, natural gas), entering into marriage/getting a divorce etc. Thus, it can be seen as a de facto necessity for meaningful civic life in Pakistan. However, since some births in the country are not registered, and some Pakistanis do not conduct any of the activities described above, a few do not have ID cards. In 2007, NADRA announced that it had issued 60 million SNIC (the C standing for computerised) numbers, which is approximately one-third of the population. The authority had issued the 10 millionth SNIC on February 11, 2002; 20 millionth on June 18, 2002; 30 millionth on December 22, 2003; 40 millionth on October 1, 2004; and 50 millionth SNIC on February 14, 2006.[5]

Province & City Codes[edit]

Pakistani CNIC has 13 digits for example 12345-1234567-1, also known as citizen number. First digit shows province 2nd digit shows division third digit shows district forth digit shows tehsil fifth digit shows union council, next 7 digits are family numbers & last digit shows gender.

CNIC code for province starting from

1 for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

2 for FATA now merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

3 for Punjab, Pakistan

4 for Sindh

5 for Balochistan

6 for Islamabad

7 for Gilgit Baltistan

8 for Azad Kashmir

CNIC code for Divisions

Divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

11 for Bannu Division

12 for Dera Ismail Khan Division

13 for Hazara Division

14 for Kohat Division

15 for Malakand Division

16 for Mardan Division

17 for Peshawar Division

Divisions of Punjab, Pakistan

31 for Bahawalpur Division

32 for Dera Ghazi Khan Division

33 for Faisalabad Division

34 for Gujranwala Division & Gujrat Division

35 for Lahore Division

36 for Multan Division & Sahiwal Division

37 for Rawalpindi Division

38 for Sargodha Division & Mianwali Division

Divisions of Sindh

41 for Hyderabad Division & Banbhore Division

42 for Karachi Division

43 for Larkana Division

44 for Mirpur Khas Division

45 for Sukkur Division & Shaheed Benazirabad Division

Divisions of Balochistan

51 for Kalat Division & Rakhshan Division

52 for Makran Division

53 for Nasirabad Division

54 for Quetta Division

55 for Sibi Division

56 for Zhob Division & Loralai Division

Divisions of Gilgit Baltistan

71 for all three divisions of Gilgit Baltistan: Gilgit Division, Baltistan Division & Diamer Division

Divisions of Azad Kashmir

81 for Mirpur Division

82 for Poonch Division & Muzaffarabad Division

Security features[edit]

A unique 13-digit number are assigned at birth when the legal ascendant(s) complete the child's birth registration form (Form RG-2, commonly known as B-Form), and then a National Identity Card (NIC) with the same number is issued at the age of 18. Until 2001, NIC numbers were 11 digits long. In 2001-2002, the authority started issuing 13-digit NIC numbers along with their new biometric ID cards. The first 5 digits are based on the applicant's locality, the next 7 are serial numbers, and the last digit is a check digit. The old manual NIC numbers are invalid as of 1 January 2004.

The ID card has the following information on it: Legal Name, Gender (male, female, or transgender), Father's name (Husband's name for married females), Identification Mark, Date of Birth, National Identity Card Number, Family Tree ID Number, Current Address, Permanent Address, Date of Issue, Date of Expiry, Signature, Photo, and Fingerprint (Thumbprint) NADRA also records the applicant's religion, but this is not noted on the CNIC itself. NADRA has registered over 90% of women in the Pakistani nation.

In Pakistan, all adult citizens must register for the Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), with a unique number, at age 18. CNIC serves as an identification document to authenticate an individual's identity as the citizen of Pakistan. Before introduction of the CNIC, National Identity Cards (NICs) were issued to citizens of Pakistan. Now,[needs update] the government has introduced the Smart National Identity Card (SNIC),

Smart National Identity Card[edit]

NADRA introduced the Smart National Identity Card (SNIC), Pakistan's first national electronic identity card, in October 2012. Pakistan's SNIC contains a data chip and 36 security features. The SNIC complies with ICAO standard 9303 and ISO standard 7816-4. The SNIC can be used for both offline and online identification, voting, pension disbursement, social and financial inclusion programmes and other services. NADRA aims to replace all 89.5 million CNICs with SNICs by 2020. It costs PKR 750 to get a SNIC as on 15 December 2019.

Contents[edit]

The SNIC card contains basic information regarding the individual, such as the following.

Front side

  • Name – Given Name, Family Name in English and Urdu.
  • Father’s Name – Given Name, Family Name in English and Urdu. (Husband's name for married females)
  • Gender – containing one character for M (male), F (female), or X (transgender)
  • Country of Stay
  • Identity number – A unique 13-digit number
  • Date of birth – listed in the Gregorian calendar format, in DDMMYY
  • Photo of the individual
  • Date of Issue
  • Date of Expiry (written as Lifetime for above 60 year old)
  • Holder’s Signature

Back side

  • Present address
  • Permanent address
  • QR code
  • Card serial number
  • Card holder's name→ is entitled visa free entry into Pakistan. (NICOP and POC only)
  • Machine-readable (NICOP and POC only)

Features[edit]

In order to address the security concerns, NADRA have incorporated 36 security features in the physical design of the card, making it one of the securest cards in the world. The card is printed in multiple layers and each layer has its own security features. The chip is encrypted with algorithm developed by NADRA indigenous development team and secure communication protocols have been determined for being read by remote devices.

To enable remote verification of citizens a match-on-card applet has been designed by NADRA. When a citizen places their card into a card reader, the reader will first authenticate itself to the card. In return, the card will verify its authenticity to the reader. If both the verifications are successful, the device will ask for a finger. This will enable verifications of individuals in the remotest parts of Pakistan. So say in a decade when an individual casts a vote, the government may ascertain that the person casting the vote is indeed the same as the one on the electoral roll. This is only one of the thousands of scenarios of identity fraud prevention that the card empowers. These kinds of contemporary features help gain citizen a new level of technology.

Majority of space in the chip has been made available for the private sector to use for their products and services. It might appear expensive for the private sector to use this card initially but once the number of citizens having critical mass is reached, it will be more profitable for the private sector to use this secure and universal platform.[6]

Citizens who live abroad[edit]

Pakistani citizens living abroad can apply for NICOP. NICOP stands for National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis. NICOP is a registration document to be issued to a valid/legitimate citizen of Pakistan. Previously it was issued to overseas Pakistanis working/living/staying/studying abroad for consecutive time period of six months or possessing dual nationalities but now it can be issued to any citizen of Pakistan. Persons with a fiduciary claim to Pakistan e.g. by marriage to a CNIC, SNIC, or NICOP holder can apply for POC, Pakistan Origin Card. Like NICOP, POC entitles the holder to visa-free entry to Pakistan with unlimited length of stay. However, POC holders do not have the right to vote.[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ admin (21 November 2016). "SNIC Fee Structure". NADRA. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  2. ^ Malik, Tariq. "Technology in the Service of Development: The NADRA Story". Center for Global Development. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  3. ^ a b "National Identification System". NADRA. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  4. ^ Paracha, Nadeem Farooq. "It may seem that the all-important ID card that every Pakistani citizen must have has always been there. Not quite. The ID card was first introduced in 1973. The first ever Pakistani ID card was issued to then prime minister of Pakistan, ZA Bhutto". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  5. ^ HOME - National Database and Registration Authority
  6. ^ "From an idea to reality: Pakistan's smart card". The News International. 2012-11-11. Archived from the original on 2021-01-25.

External links[edit]