ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is purging its national identity records of foreigners who had obtained documents illegally, the country’s deputy interior minister said on Tuesday, revealing that Afghan nationals had surrendered around 5,000 Pakistani passports in Saudi Arabia alone.
The disclosure comes as Islamabad intensifies scrutiny of foreign nationals and identity fraud alongside a nationwide repatriation drive that has sent nearly 2.7 million Afghans back to their country since late 2023.
Pakistan launched the campaign following a surge in militant violence, citing security concerns, though the policy has strained relations with Kabul and drawn criticism from the United Nations and rights groups.
“We have launched this campaign across the country that we will completely clear our data of these aliens, these foreigners,” Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told the National Assembly.
He said Afghan nationals had obtained Pakistani identity cards and in some instances had been added to the official family trees of Pakistani citizens, either deliberately or with the involvement of officials from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
Chaudhry said criminal cases had been brought against officials implicated in the practice and several had been dismissed from service.
Pakistan has stepped up action against fraudulent identity documents in recent months. In July, the Federal Investigation Agency arrested NADRA officials accused of facilitating the issuance of false identity documents to Afghan nationals, saying investigators were also examining possible links between the network and militant elements.
Chaudhry said the problem extended beyond identity cards to passports used by Afghan nationals abroad.
“Only in Saudi Arabia, the Afghan citizens who made fake passports for Pakistan surrendered 5,000 [of them],” he said.
The minister said fraudulent use of Pakistani documents overseas could have wider consequences for the country when their holders were implicated in crime or militancy.
“When a person is caught in fraud, terrorism or other crimes, they consider him Pakistani because the document is Pakistani,” he said, adding that such cases could result in restrictions on visas for Pakistani nationals.
Pakistan announced its Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan in October 2023, ordering undocumented foreigners, mostly Afghans, to leave the country or face deportation.
Islamabad has repeatedly linked its tougher policy toward Afghan nationals to security concerns, accusing Kabul of harboring militant groups and facilitating cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny allowing their territory to be used for attacks against other countries.
Chaudhry rejected allegations in parliament that Pakistani identity cards or passports were being blocked on the basis of whether holders came from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan or other regions.
He said the government was prepared to investigate individual complaints but needed to ensure its national records were accurate.
“We have to clear our records,” he said.
