NADRA Chairman Lt. General M. Munir Afsar removed from post

Lahore: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Friday ordered the removal of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar.

LHC accepted the petition against the appointment of Chairman NADRA which was filed by citizen Ashba Kamran had challenged the appointment of Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar as Chairman NADRA.

Justice Asim Hafeez delivered the verdict on the petition against the appointment of Chairman NADRA.

On October 2, 2023, the caretaker federal government appointed IG Communication and IT Lt. Gen. Muhammad Munir Afsar, posted at General Headquarters (GHQ) as interim chairman of NADRA.

After the caretaker cabinet meeting chaired by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, it was stated on the social media website X that the federal cabinet has appointed Lt. Gen. Munir Afsar out of the three proposed names for the Chairman NADRA on the summary of the Ministry of Interior.

The statement said that the cabinet was informed that the selection committee had shortlisted the names of three best candidates for the chairmanship of NADRA and after detailed consideration, the cabinet selected Lt. Gen. Munir Afsar as the new chairman of NADRA.

Subsequently, after the results of the general elections held on February 8, 2024, the elected federal government approved the appointment of Munir Afsar as Chairman NADRA for three years by approving the summary of the Ministry of Interior through circulation on March 29, 2024.

The federal government had approved the inclusion of Rule 7A in the NADRA Rules 2020, under which any serving officer can be appointed as Chairman NADRA in the national interest, provided that the serving officer's rank is not below Grade 21.

Lt Gen Munir Afsar was among the 12 major generals promoted to the rank of Lt Gen in October 2022.

He took charge from NADRA Chairman Asad Rehman Gillani who was appointed NADRA Chairman in 2023 after the resignation of Tariq Malik.

Tariq Malik had abruptly resigned from the post on June 14, a year before the completion of his three-year term, and before that, he had met the then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.