NADRA has introduced a series of reforms to improve death registration across Pakistan following directions from the federal interior minister. The authority has removed the fee for cancelling a deceased person’s identity card, strengthened data sharing with provincial Civil Registration Management Systems (CRMS), and made biometric verification mandatory to prevent false or fraudulent death entries.
When a death is entered into a provincial CRMS, the event is forwarded into NADRA’s family records. Relatives seeking services from NADRA are asked to complete biometric verification of the CRMS-registered death before the deceased’s identity card is cancelled and services are provided. Although NADRA can cancel identity cards automatically on the basis of CRMS records, biometric checks remain a required safeguard because provincial CRMS installations currently lack biometric devices.
These changes initially posed implementation challenges, but early results are encouraging. NADRA reports a sixfold increase in reported deaths, notable improvements in data accuracy and a significant reduction in fraudulent registrations. The reforms aim to ease legal and financial complications for families, including inheritance and pension claims, by ensuring timely and accurate death registration.
To make services more accessible, citizens can now submit identity card cancellation requests for deceased relatives through the Pak ID app. As a pilot in three districts of Punjab, death registration via the Pak ID app has been enabled, and the service is planned to be expanded nationwide soon to include birth, marriage, divorce and death registrations.
NADRA has also added free family record viewing and a data discrepancy flagging feature within the Pak ID app to help families review and correct records. Coordination between NADRA and provincial governments is being enhanced under the National Registration and Biometrics Policy to improve system interoperability and data integrity.
NADRA urges citizens to register vital life events promptly in the provincial CRMS and to keep family records updated with NADRA. Timely death registration and accurate family records are essential not only as a legal responsibility but also to secure continued access to government services and to preserve national data accuracy.
