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Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Afnanullah Khan alleged on Tuesday that sensitive data from NADRA, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and banks is currently circulating on the dark web. He revealed that any Pakistani citizen’s data could be bought for as little as Rs500, asserting that such widespread data theft is unlikely without insider involvement.
During a Senate Standing Committee on Interior session, Khan shared that the theft included the use of a fake passport by an individual to travel to India in 2023. The passport was linked to a consultant from the Attorney General’s office. The affected lawyer, present at the meeting, confirmed that his identity and a counterfeit passport were exploited in this scheme and that he had to verify his citizenship at NADRA afterward.
The Director General of Immigration and Passports stated NADRA has documented several similar forgery cases and has implemented a dashboard to thwart fraudulent travel. When questioned about how identities were compromised, he explained that many individuals share their passport and ID details over WhatsApp, which facilitates leaks. He assured that NADRA and passport agencies have since upgraded security measures, making it impossible now to obtain fake passports.
Interior Minister of State Talal Chaudhry mentioned that the government plans to establish an authority dedicated to cyber security and that Nadra would be briefed accordingly. Such leaks are not new; in September 2025, Major General (retired) Hafeez Ur Rehman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority disclosed that the personal data of around 300,000 Hajj applicants had appeared on the dark web. He emphasized the urgent need for a thorough investigation to identify the sources of these breaches.
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