National Party Senator Jan Muhammad Buledi has called for action over blocked identity cards in Balochistan’s Makran and Rakhshan divisions, saying restrictions linked to foreign citizenship were causing hardship for residents and affecting entire families.
Presenting a calling-attention notice in Pakistan’s Senate, the party’s parliamentary leader said the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) had blocked entire families’ identity cards if its records showed even one member holding Iranian citizenship documents. Other family members should not face such restrictions, he said, urging the government to resolve their difficulties.
Buledi said Balochistan had been a separate state prior to Pakistan’s creation and had not been part of the subcontinent. It shared borders with Iran and Afghanistan, he said, and people on either side had longstanding connections and family ties.
Gwadar had been under the Sultan of Oman, and hundreds of its residents held Omani citizenship when it became part of Pakistan, he added.
Residents holding both Pakistani and Omani citizenship had been severely affected by recent government measures, with their bank accounts closed, Buledi said. He urged the government to reach a dual-nationality agreement with Oman so that people from Gwadar would not face these difficulties.
He said residents of other areas were also facing problems because of their Iranian or Afghan citizenship.
Pakistan had dual-nationality agreements with distant countries but not with its neighbours, Buledi said, calling for comprehensive measures to resolve the issue.