Hafiz Hamdullah appeals to interior ministry to restore his NIC

ISLAMABAD: Former Jamiat Ulema-e-Fazl (JUI-F) senator Hafiz Hamdullah appealed to the interior ministry to restore his National Identity Card (NIC) on Sunday.

Hamdullah, who was elected senator from the JUI-F’s platform from March 2012 to March 2018, said that he informed Mian Waheed-ud-Din, Special Secretary of the Minister of Interior about his NIC’s cancellation.

“The secretary was also laughing at what has been done to me,” he said.

NADRA cancelled Hamdullah’s citizenship on Saturday and labelled him a ‘confirmed alien’. This came to light when the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued a notice to TV channels, forbidding them from inviting the JUI-F leader on talk shows.

The Pemra notification referenced a NADRA letter dated October 11 that affirmed that the JUI-F leader was not a citizen of Pakistan.

Read more: NADRA cancels citizenship of JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah

The notification also stated that NADRA had cancelled the CNIC of the JUI-F leader. This would mean that the former senator is no longer a citizen of Pakistan.

Maulana Hamdullah had been elected as an MPA from Balochistan in the 2002 General Elections on a Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal ticket, and served as Provisional Health Minister from 2002 till 2005.

In March 2012 he was elected to the Senate on a general seat as a JUI-F candidate. His tenure ended in March of last year.