Many documents require attestation before one can applying for a CNIC, passport, or college/university admissions. This is a tedious task because documents must be attested by a government gazetted officer that holds the rank of Grade-16 or above. However, attestation was not always difficult because there were several public sector organisations whose officers had the authority to attest the required documents. Even for the registration of birth and death certificates or to attest Nadra documents, people could approach the relevant officers quite easily.
However, in the last 15 years, many public sector institutions have been either denationalised or acquired by private entities. Consequently, the officers of these institutions no longer have the authority to attest documents as per the law. Now, people are required to first locate the different government officers and reach them in time because most usually need the attested documents on an urgent basis. The rapid privatisation of institutions has further complicated this time-consuming process. It is especially difficult for people living in rural areas because they do not have access to the means to trace gazetted officers. A democratically elected government is responsible to facilitate and accommodate the public by creating appropriate policies, laws, and by modifying present legal remedies. Therefore, I request the federal government and all other relevant authorities to implement policies that are in the best interest of the public. Authority for attestation should be restored to officers of all banks and financial institutions as it would be more feasible.
Nisar Ahmed
KARACHI
