Living as 'ghosts' in Pakistan

Millions struggle without ID cards, writes Sameer Mandhro

- 

Ahmed Raza is invisible in the eyes of his government, unable to study or work because, like millions of other Pakistanis, he lacks identification papers.

In the South Asian nation of more than 240 million people, parents generally wait until a child begins school at the age of five to obtain a birth certificate, which is required for enrolment in most parts of Pakistan.

Mr Raza slipped through the cracks until the end of elementary school, but when his middle school requested documentation, his mother had no choice but to withdraw him.

“If I go looking for work, they ask for my ID card. Without it, they refuse to hire me,” said the 19-year-old in the megacity of Karachi, the southern economic capital.

He has already been arrested twice for failing to present identification cards when stopped by police at checkpoints.

Mr Raza’s mother Maryam Suleman, who is also unregistered, said she “didn’t understand the importance of having identity documents”.

“I had no idea I would face such difficulties later in life for not being registered,’ the 55-year-old widow told AFP from the single room she and Mr Raza share.