ISLAMABAD: Brig (r) Ejaz Ahmed would be heading the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), said the sources on Wednesday.
A day earlier, Tariq Malik resigned as NADRA chief. He resigned from his position as chairman of the NADRA, a year before the completion of his three-year term. He submitted his resignation during a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The resignation came months after a controversy over the leak of data pertaining to the family of ex-army chief, entailing action against some NADRA employees by Mr Malik. “I find it increasingly difficult to work in a charged and polarised political environment. It is difficult for any professional to maintain his integrity and independence in an environment that constantly pigeon-holes people in an ‘us versus them’ logic and where political loyalty is privileged over competence,” read the three-page resignation.
Malik in his resignation, also pleaded to the PM not to appoint a serving or retired bureaucrat as his replacement and instead pick a professional and technical person for the job.
Malik said during his short stints at NADRA, he tried to serve the country to the best of his abilities and beyond narrow party or institutional interests.
Malik was appointed chairman NADRA for a second time in June 2021, by the then Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government. He had reportedly been facing immense pressure from the interior minister to resign after reports emerged that some officials had been found involved in leaking personal data of army chief and his family.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the resignation of NADRA chairman had nothing to do with the data leak issue as he addressed a press conference.
