KARACHI: Years after the creation of new administrative districts in Karachi, thousands of residents continue to face difficulties updating their official documents, creating hurdles in government job applications, educational admissions and other official procedures.
Citizens say many people have retained domiciles, Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs) and Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) showing their former districts, either because they were unaware of the changes or because they only attempted to update their records when a specific need arose.
Over the past several years, Korangi District was carved out of East District, while Keamari District was created from West District. Malir had already been established as a separate district.
Following these administrative changes, residents are required to obtain domiciles and PRCs reflecting their new districts and update their CNIC addresses accordingly. However, citizens complain that the process requires visits to multiple government offices and can be particularly difficult for daily-wage workers and salaried employees who cannot afford to spend several days completing administrative formalities.
The issue becomes more complicated when district-based quotas or verification are involved. Residents say discrepancies between their current district and the district mentioned on their documents can lead to delays or incorrect placement in government jobs and difficulties during university admissions.
Recently, Imran Ahmed, a Korangi resident, encountered the issue while applying for a Grade-5 government position. After receiving an offer for a peon’s post, he discovered that he had been assigned to a school in East District because his domicile and PRC still carried the former district’s name. He subsequently approached the Korangi Deputy Commissioner’s Office to seek a resolution.
Similarly, Abdul Quddus, a resident of Hawks Bay in Keamari, said he faced delays while applying for a domicile for his daughter. His own domicile was issued under the former West District, while his daughter’s documents submitted to the Keamari Deputy Commissioner’s Office were sent to the former West District office for verification. He said repeated visits to offices in both districts were required before the application could be processed.
Another resident, Muhammad Amin of Budhni Goth, pointed to difficulties involving medical college admissions. He said that before Keamari became a separate district, Keamari Town had been allocated 10 MBBS seats at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Medical University. Following the creation of the new district, the seats were divided among Mauripur, Baldia and Moriro Mirbahar towns.
Citizens argue that government departments should establish mechanisms to automatically update official records following changes in administrative boundaries, rather than placing the burden on residents.
Karachi currently comprises seven districts — East, West, South, Central, Malir, Keamari and Korangi. The continued use of former district names on official documents has consequently created discrepancies for some residents between their current place of residence and their official records.
However, Keamari Deputy Commissioner Abdul Sattar Hakro maintained that the creation of new districts generally does not create problems for ordinary citizens.
Story by RAZZAk ABRO
