Naqvi informs NA: 326,341 fake CNICs cancelled in five years
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that a total of 326,341 computerised national identity cards (CNICs) fraudulently obtained by Afghan nationals were cancelled over the past five years.
In a written reply during Question Hour, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the CNICs had been obtained through fraud and forgery and subsequently cancelled by the ministry.
The figures presented to the house showed that 255,139 cards were cancelled in 2026, compared with 62,414 in 2025, 8,609 in 2024, 117 in 2023 and 62 in 2022, indicating a sharp rise in cancellations this year.
In a separate written reply to another question, the minister said law enforcement agencies had conducted 5,143 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across the country between January 1 and September 29, 2026, under National Action Plan (NAP).
The operations resulted in the killing of 2,410 suspected terrorists, injuries to 806 others and the arrest of 3,518 suspects, according to the reply.
However, the minister acknowledged significant shortcomings in the implementation of non-kinetic counterterrorism measures, particularly efforts to curb extremist content on social media platforms.
He said compliance by social media companies with content removal requests remained low, with overall compliance standing at 23.7 percent for requests made by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and 47.1 percent for those submitted by provincial Counter Terrorism Departments (CTDs).
Platform-wise figures showed compliance rates of just 7.4 percent for X, 1.9 percent for YouTube and 38.1 percent for Facebook. The non-adoption of the PTA’s Social Media Rules by the companies was also cited as a major regulatory obstacle.
The minister said that while kinetic operations had achieved notable results, efforts to counter online extremism remained inadequate.
The minister said the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016, criminalises the online glorification of terrorism, while the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA), established under the 2025 amendments, is not yet fully operational.
He said intelligence cells lacked trained analysts, modern tools and round-the-clock monitoring capacity to turn online information into actionable intelligence.
On the financial constraints facing the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), Naqvi said the authority had sought Rs2.983 billion for the fiscal year 2026-27 but had been allocated Rs1.333billion. It had requested additional funding to carry out its core functions and coordination responsibilities.
Established under the Nacta Act, 2013, the authority primarily serves as a strategic policy and coordination body and does not possess investigative, arrest or enforcement powers, the he said.
He added that the government was undertaking a structural reorganisation of Nacta, while the National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre (Niftac) had been made an attached department of the Interior ministry.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026