Registration of illegitimate children: Supreme Court asks provincial governments, DCOs to submit report

The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday directed the provincial governments and district co-ordination officers (DCOs) to submit report on the registration of illegitimate children within two weeks.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was hearing the application of Abdul Sattar Edhi, who has requested the SC to devise a legal strategy to resolve the sensitive and complex issue of registration of children of unknown parentage to enable them to live their lives with dignity and respect.
Edhi has approached the apex court to give these children an identity independent of a legally mandated guardian. He has also informed in the application that the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) had refused to register a minor and informed his daughter Kubra Edhi that the registration process could not be initiated without the child's guardian.
During the hearing, the counsel for Nadra, Afnan Karim Kundi, submitted that provincial governments had already framed the rules regarding the registration of illegitimate children. He said that Deputy Commissioners and DCOs were implementing these rules.The CJP observed that this is sensitive and important issue, which needed to be heard in details.
It is worth mentioning that earlier the court had asked the Council of Islamic Ideology and former Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday for their opinion on registering children with unknown parentage in light of Shariah. Justice Ramday has suggested; "The Nadra and learned Guardians Judges in the country could be directed to deal with the matter of guardianship of children of unknown parentage expeditiously and without causing any delay or inconvenience, which avoidable, whenever approached for the purpose." The bench issued notices to all provincial governments and DCOs regarding the matter and adjourned the hearing for two weeks.