NADRA explains why living citizens are mistakenly declared dead

Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has clarified the reasons behind cases in which living citizens are mistakenly marked as deceased in official records, following complaints from affected individuals across the country.

The issue came into focus after a resident of Hyderabad reported that he had been declared dead in NADRA’s database despite being alive. The incident raised public concerns about how such errors occur and the process required to restore a person’s legal status in government records.

A NADRA representative acknowledged that similar cases have recently surfaced involving citizens whose records incorrectly show them as deceased. However, the authority maintained that it does not independently declare any person dead without receiving official documentation from local government bodies.

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According to the official, death registrations are first processed through the relevant Union Council, which then shares the information with NADRA for database updates. The authority stated that most of these errors occur due to two primary reasons.

The first reason involves situations where a family member mistakenly or intentionally obtains a death certificate for a living person from the Union Council. Once the death certificate is issued, the information is automatically transferred to NADRA’s system, resulting in the person being marked as deceased.

The second reason relates to clerical mistakes, including incorrect identification numbers or data entry errors during the issuance of death certificates. Such mistakes can accidentally link another individual’s record to a registered death.

NADRA officials advised affected citizens to immediately contact their relevant Union Council and NADRA registration centre to begin the correction process. Citizens may be required to submit identification documents and verification records to restore their active status in the national database.

The clarification comes amid growing public concern over documentation errors and calls for stronger verification procedures to prevent wrongful declarations in official records.