People Asked Not to Sell their Watan Cards

The Nation: Dated 5 November, 2010


The Watan Card holders should not sell their cards as subsequent installments of cash assistance will be made on the same card; this was stated by Tariq Malik Deputy Chairman NADRA in a statement on Thursday.

He urged that flood affectees who lost or sold their cards by mistake should contact the relevant banks to block their lost or sold card and get the new one as replacement on their CNIC.

“It’s your card; you own it and you are entitled for the replacement,” said Deputy Chairman.

He warned culprits not to exploit the vulnerability of flood victims with meager offers against their cards as severe actions will be taken against them. He said it is an identity fraud and such culprit will be handed over to law enforcement agencies.

More than 20 Billion Rupees of Cash assistance has been provided to more than 1.15 million flood victim Families through NADRA’s 100 distribution centers setup countrywide which has benefited approximately 10 million flood affected People.

Tariq Malik said that Watan Card program has become the world’s largest cash assistance program as an aftermath of disaster, as far as number of beneficiaries are concerned.

He pointed out the provincial government is responsible to endorse the right person for Watan Card, which is issued on the notification of concerned department. It has also duty to maintain law and order situation across the NADRA centers.

NADRA has deployed the WATAN Card strategy of cash assistance after it was approved by Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting with the agreement of all four provinces, GB and AJK. Malik said and added NADRA team is working aggressively in the entire country to serve the applicants of Watan Cards in all four provinces including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

NADRA with its biometric technology ensures that the beneficiary is the same person claiming to be resident of the areas notified as “flood hit area” under Calamity Act by provincial government.

Its strategy is based on Evidence of Identity (EOI) methodology, which is a new phenomenon and being observed by international aid agencies closely.

The process of cash distribution demands accurate identification of the beneficiaries as if in the ongoing financial assistance programme of the government. The EOI processes with its sophisticated biometric verification component establish exactly the identity of the aids beneficiary such as Watan Card holder; whether his/ her is living to the presenter links’ identity and with the account.