Corruption menace Pakistan lets militants get national ID cards

Foreign Islamic militant have been able to secure Pakistani national identity cards in exchange for bribes as low as USD 100, giving them vastly greater freedom to operate, according to a report by leading daily from England that cited report from Pakistan’s top intelligence agency.

According to the recent report thousands of foreigners have illegally obtained Pakistani national IDs. Most of them are Afghan refugees trying to have a more regular status, but they also include at least dozens of Islamic militants from China, the Maldives, Uzbekistan and the United States, reported the daily. Pakistani militants also often secured a second national ID card under a fake name, making it harder for local law enforcement to track and apprehend them, the report says.

“If the registration authority of any country is not corruption free, there are serious security concerns,” said Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan at a press conference in Islamabad . Khan said he had set up a permanent committee of officers to work on ending the practice, adding, “We have prioritized it.”

Among the most notorious beneficiaries of this system was Adnan Shukrijumah, a Saudi-born U.S. Citizen and a top al-Qaida commander. Shukrijumah was killed in a Pakistani army raid in a tribal region along the Afghan border in December 2014. He was found in possession of a Pakistani national identity card under the name of Shahzaib Khan, according to the report.

Another example was Mohammed Amin, a native of the Maldives who was wanted by his government. Amin lived in Pakistan for four years with a fake ID; according to the ISI report, he fled the country in 2011 using a Pakistani passport.