The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has announced temporary relief allowing citizens to apply for a national identity card without submitting a birth certificate. The decision, approved by the NADRA Board under the NADRA Ordinance on the directions of the Interior Minister, aims to facilitate thousands of Pakistanis who were previously unable to register due to missing birth records. Officials said the move will especially benefit people in rural areas where many individuals were never issued official birth certificates, creating long-standing difficulties in obtaining a Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC).