For information on the significance of numbers and other features of the National Identity Card (NIC) of Pakistan issued between 1992 and 2000, please refer to PAK29017.E of 27 March 1998 and its attachment, as well as PAK35944.E of 20 November 2000, PAK35800.FE of 1 November 2000, PAK22295.E of 21 November 1995 and PAK36261.E of 15 May 2001. Additional information, including references to the introduction of a new identity card in 2001 and illegal availability of the earlier identity card, can be found in PAK39786.E of 10 October 2002. Information on the new National Identity Card features can be found also at the website of the National Database and Registration Authorities of Pakistan (NADRA) at http://www.nadra.gov.pk/cnic.html.

Further to the information provided in the above-cited Responses, the London-based organization Privacy International reported in 1996 that the Pakistan NIC "carries a large amount of data, including photograph, signature, card serial number, government official's signature, Date of issue, DRO/Post office number, ID Card number, name, father's name, Temporary Address, Permanent Address, identification marks, and date of birth" (24 Aug. 1996).

No additional information could be obtained from the Pakistan High Commission in Ottawa within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Privacy International, London. 24 August 1996. "Identity Cards." http://www.privacy.org/pi/activities/idcard/idcard_faq.html [Accessed 7 Oct. 2002]