Senator Claims NADRA Makes a Lot of Money Using Citizens’ Data [Updated]

Update: The headline and story have been updated after Senator Anusha Rehman said that her comments regarding NADRA were taken out of context. She explained that she did not accuse NADRA of selling thumbprints and misusing people’s data during elections.

Senator Anusha Rehman on Monday said that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) makes a lot of money by selling access to its data to telcos, the Election Commission of Pakistan, banks, and other institutions.

During an Upper House session on the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill today, the lawmaker urged to address these issues through the IT Ministry’s proposed Personal Data Protection Bill 2023, which seeks to regulate data management and keep government entities like NADRA under scrutiny. She said that it’s hard to imagine why NADRA would agree to share its data with MoIT when it makes this much money by providing paid access to it.

The IT Secretary and other ministry officials said the data protection bill is undergoing final consultations with relevant departments. Once completed, it will be introduced for legislative approval. Despite their assurances, the committee chairman criticized the absence of the finalized bill. The panel was of the view that such a bill would solve the problem of data security with entities like NADRA and keep it in check.

It bears mentioning that the IT Ministry last week opposed the Personal Data Protection Bill 2023, submitted as a Private Member’s Bill (PMB) by Senator Afnan Ullah.

The ministry said the bill violates legislative policy, deviates from the constitutional framework, and fails to meet procedural and consultative requirements. The reply also pointed to a violation of Article 74 of the Constitution, which mandates that any bill involving federal expenditure or withdrawals from the Federal Consolidated Fund can only be introduced with the consent of the Federal Government.