ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) cannot revoke the citizenship of any citizen based on a mere intelligence report.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Saturday issued a detailed 29-page judgment in JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah's case.
NADRA, on October 11, 2019, had declared Hamdullah an "alien" and revoked his citizenship.
Subsequently, on May 19 this year, the IHC declared NADRA's action to block former senator Hamdullah's CNIC as illegal and ordered it to restore his national identity card.
The detailed decision said NADRA does not have the power to deprive anyone of citizenship as its job is only to register and maintain the national database. The court said only relevant authorities, and not NADRA, can take up the matter of revoking a person's citizenship — and even they need a judicial order to finalise a decision.
The court questioned how, when Hamdullah was born in Pakistan and his son served in the army, had NADRA concluded that they were not Pakistani citizens.
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