SC summons interior minister, secretary in NICOP fee case
March 19, 2018
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court summoned on Monday the interior minister and secretary in a case pertaining to charging an extra fee from expatriates for their identity cards.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar, heard the suo-motu case regarding the government charging extra fees for the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP). The bench comprises Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah.
During the court proceedings, the chief justice questioned, “What is the reason for sending the summary regarding the change in prices of identity cards? On what basis has the government sent this summary?”
The chief justice then summoned the interior minister and interior secretary to provide the reasoning behind the decision.
The court was later informed that the interior minister and secretary have gone to Gwadar for a two-day visit. Responding to this, the chief justice said that the case should be adjourned till Monday (March 26).
He suggested that a commission should be formed to review the fee structure for identity cards.
On March 21, 2017, the top judge had taken suo motu notice over the exorbitant fee being charged for the issuance of NICOP and cancellation of the Pakistan Origin Card (POC).
The issue came into court's notice after a non-resident Pakistani complained that the issuance fee for a POC had been increased to Rs22,000, and the cancellation fee to Rs31,500.
According to the complaint, the POC fee was earlier increased to $150 from $100 and then to Rs22,000 for preparation and Rs31,500 for cancellation of the card. The complainant alleged that the National Database and Registration Authority's (NADRA) move has discouraged overseas Pakistanis to opt for the POC.
Reasoning the fee hike, NADRA representatives had claimed before the apex court last month that the price of the new chip-based smart identification card was comparatively high due to its distinctive features.
