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MPs Insist On Removing Ethnicity From e-NIC

Over 50 members of parliament on Saturday signed a petition against the decision taken to include nationality and ethnicity in the new electronic National Identity Cards (e-NIC).

The MPs said the inclusion of such information was not necessary and urged government to review the decision. 

Following the establishment of the National Unity Government (NUG), President Ashraf Ghani approved the law of population registration in which the inclusion of the nationality and ethnicity information was not included. 

The law was Then criticized by a number of people and the president issued a legislative decree stating nationality and ethnicity information should be included. 

The decree then was rejected by parliament but was approved by the senate. 

To resolve the disagreements in this regard, a joint committee was formed by parliament and the senate to decide on the issue. The committee approved the inclusion of nationality and ethnicity in the new e-NIC. 

On Saturday, however, a number of MPs said they are against the inclusion of the nationality and ethnicity information in the e-NIC.

They said four members of the committee were absent when the decision was made and that it contravened article 100 of the constitution.

Two weeks ago 12 members of the joint committee approved the president’s legislative decree. 

“It looks like the previous law had all the standards that the identity cards in other countries have. But the president instead of approving that law and instead of understanding the legal problems has amended the law without approval of both houses (parliament and senate),” MP Fawzia Kofi said. 

“There are dozens of issues that you should include in the agenda. Otherwise, disagreements will rise up in a way that handling it will be a problem for you,” MP Abdul Wali Niazi said. 

However, some other MPs said the population registration law has been approved and there is no need to discuss it. 

They said the new e-NIC should be distributed as soon as possible. 

“This law has completed all its legal and principle steps,” MP Abdul Hai Akhundzada said. 

“Let’s stay united. If there are problems in these e-NIC, please write my name as Habib Afghan Hazara,” MP Habib Afghan said. 

Mirdad Nejrabi, Najia Aimaq, Abdul Wadood Paiman and Abdul Qayyum Sajjadi are members of the joint committee who were absent from the meeting of the committee where they decided on the fate of the new e-NIC. 

They then were accused of treason by the parliament speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi over being absent at the meeting. 

“You should have informed us that the joint committee members has a meeting in a specified day. I as a member of the committee had not received any message or letter in this regard,” MP Abdul Qayyum Sajjadi and a member of the committee said. 

“50 signatures have been collected in regard to the joint commission and e-NIC and you should include it in the agenda,” MP Zahir Sadaat said. 

“Right now, there are not enough MPs present and you should explain what is your letter about,” Ibrahimi said. 

Meanwhile ousted Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor said the e-NIC should be issued based on the law that has been approved by Ghani. 

“The issuance of e-NIC should start within a month based on parliament’s decision and president’s approval without any changes,” Noor said. 

MPs Insist On Removing Ethnicity From e-NIC

MPs said the decision on the inclusion of nationality and ethnicity was information in the new e-NIC that should be reviewed. 

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Over 50 members of parliament on Saturday signed a petition against the decision taken to include nationality and ethnicity in the new electronic National Identity Cards (e-NIC).

The MPs said the inclusion of such information was not necessary and urged government to review the decision. 

Following the establishment of the National Unity Government (NUG), President Ashraf Ghani approved the law of population registration in which the inclusion of the nationality and ethnicity information was not included. 

The law was Then criticized by a number of people and the president issued a legislative decree stating nationality and ethnicity information should be included. 

The decree then was rejected by parliament but was approved by the senate. 

To resolve the disagreements in this regard, a joint committee was formed by parliament and the senate to decide on the issue. The committee approved the inclusion of nationality and ethnicity in the new e-NIC. 

On Saturday, however, a number of MPs said they are against the inclusion of the nationality and ethnicity information in the e-NIC.

They said four members of the committee were absent when the decision was made and that it contravened article 100 of the constitution.

Two weeks ago 12 members of the joint committee approved the president’s legislative decree. 

“It looks like the previous law had all the standards that the identity cards in other countries have. But the president instead of approving that law and instead of understanding the legal problems has amended the law without approval of both houses (parliament and senate),” MP Fawzia Kofi said. 

“There are dozens of issues that you should include in the agenda. Otherwise, disagreements will rise up in a way that handling it will be a problem for you,” MP Abdul Wali Niazi said. 

However, some other MPs said the population registration law has been approved and there is no need to discuss it. 

They said the new e-NIC should be distributed as soon as possible. 

“This law has completed all its legal and principle steps,” MP Abdul Hai Akhundzada said. 

“Let’s stay united. If there are problems in these e-NIC, please write my name as Habib Afghan Hazara,” MP Habib Afghan said. 

Mirdad Nejrabi, Najia Aimaq, Abdul Wadood Paiman and Abdul Qayyum Sajjadi are members of the joint committee who were absent from the meeting of the committee where they decided on the fate of the new e-NIC. 

They then were accused of treason by the parliament speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi over being absent at the meeting. 

“You should have informed us that the joint committee members has a meeting in a specified day. I as a member of the committee had not received any message or letter in this regard,” MP Abdul Qayyum Sajjadi and a member of the committee said. 

“50 signatures have been collected in regard to the joint commission and e-NIC and you should include it in the agenda,” MP Zahir Sadaat said. 

“Right now, there are not enough MPs present and you should explain what is your letter about,” Ibrahimi said. 

Meanwhile ousted Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor said the e-NIC should be issued based on the law that has been approved by Ghani. 

“The issuance of e-NIC should start within a month based on parliament’s decision and president’s approval without any changes,” Noor said. 

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