Nationality part not excised from cards: Khan

KABUL (Pajhwok): Deputy Chief Executive Eng. Muhammad Khan said on Wednesday the word “Afghan” had not been excluded from computerised national identity cards. Instead it is kept in the supporting database.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News no one could remove the word from the identity cards. Everyone, he said, had the right to demand his/her rights through civil society networks in a peaceful way.

He however, said a final decision in this regard would be taken by the government and parliament. Everyone living in this country is Afghan and no one could deprive them of it.

The issue sparked protests across the country. It was later said the word Afghan would not be mentioned in the cards but the word Islam would remain intact.

Some days back, President Ashraf Ghani approved the law, which led to protests from some civil society organisations and political parties.

After his meetings with civil society members, the president referred the case to the Supreme Court for a final decision.

Dr. Faiz Muhammad Zaland, a civil society activist, said the president had accepted their demand to stop issuing the computerised cards.

Presidential spokesman Nazifullah Salarzai said Ghani had held meetings with civil society activists and referred the case to the apex court.

But Nasrat Rahimi, spokesman for the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, said the cards issuing process was going on without any hurdles.

He added the process to issue computerized identity cards would formally start in the next few days.

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