IHC reserves judgment in Hafiz Hamdullah's citizenship case

• The NADRA had adopted the stance before IHC bench that it did not have the authority to cancel citizenship of anyone.
• It was of the view that the NADRA had received information on December 12, 2018 by a law enforcement agency that Hamdullah was an Afghan national.

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday extended its stay order against National Database Regulatory Authority (NADRA)’s notification suspending CNIC of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) Hafiz Hamdullah while reserving the judgment on his petition.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah reserved the decision on petition moved by Hafiz Hamdullah, a former senator, challenging cancellation of his computerised national identity card (CNIC) by NADRA after listening arguments from both sides.

The NADRA had adopted the stance before IHC bench that it did not have the authority to cancel citizenship of anyone.

It added that the department had found no family link or old record on CNIC of Hafiz Hamdullah.

It was of the view that the NADRA had received information on December 12, 2018 by a law enforcement agency that Hamdullah was an Afghan national. It even found that all of Hamdullah’s documents were fake, NADRA further said.

It may be mentioned here that on October 27, 2019 NADRA revoked Hamdullah’s citizenship and declared him a foreigner. He was accused of “fraudulently obtaining” his identity card. The JUI-F leader had challenged the step in the Islamabad High Court.