Abstract:
Initially National Database Organization (NDO) was established under Ministry of Interior to conduct the Census 1998 which had become due in 1990 but could not be held for various reasons including the political turmoil that was rife in that period. Thus, it was postponed again and again. The international community and world bodies had stopped believing or relying on our figures as the previous census had been held as far back as 1980. The problem kept worsening and became acute in 1997 but after the atomic explosions on 28 May 1998 the situation in this regard became really precarious. Furthermore, the National Identity Cards (NICs) were corrupted, not being authentic and verifiable. Similar was the case of other documents, such as passports, driving licenses etc.
Govt. of Pakistan decided to establish a separate organization called NADRA in 10 March 2000 by merging the National Database Organization (NDO) and Directorate General of Registration. NADRA is an independent corporate body with requisite autonomy and is free from political interventions.
