The 'secret' codes in your 13-digit CNIC number

Your Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) issued by the National Data Base and Registration Authority (NADRA) is proof that you are a Pakistani national.

But, did you know that the 13-digit CNIC number is not just a collection of random numbers but holds a secret behind the combination?

Here is what your CNIC number means:

The 13 digits are always different from each other.

The CNIC number consists of three portions, of which the first five digits for example "12101" refer to the province, division, Tehsil and Union Council of your residence.

The people whose CNIC number starts with number 1 belong to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

Similarly, if it bears 2 the CNIC holder is from FATA. Numbers  3,4, 5, 6 and 7 are allotted to residents of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Islamabad and Gilgit Baltistan respectively.

A seven number code between two dashes is called the family number.

For example *****-1234567-x helps create the family tree.

The numbers that follow the last hyphen denotes sex of the CNIC holder with odd numbers allotted to male and even numbers to female holders of the national identity card.