Mullah Mansoor was issued Pakistani national I-card in 2005

Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday admitted the slain Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mansoor was issued a Computerised National Identity Card (CNICs) in 2005, but he blamed the then government led by President Parvez Musharraf for overtly issuing CNICs and passports to foreign nationals.

"The government cancelled 32,400 passports and blocked 22,300 CNICs during last three years. It also verified 101 million CNICs across the country," the minister was quoted by Geo News as saying. "The past government merely cancelled 500 passports."

"Besides this, around 95 million unregistered mobile SIM cards were blocked in just 90 days," Chaudhry added.

Chaudhry Nisar said the former governments issued passports and CNICs to foreign nationals, which were used in human trafficking. He, however, said an 18-member committee was being formed to review wrongly blocked CNICs.

--IANS

ahm/vt