Quetta: A crucial meeting chaired by Secretary of Local Government Abdul Rauf Baloch was convened in Quetta to discuss strategies for increasing birth registration in Balochistan, a key initiative for ensuring children’s rights and legal identity.
According to Directorate General Public Relation – Govt of Balochistan, the meeting was attended by notable officials including Chief of Foreign Aid Najeeb Babri, Deputy Secretary of the Local Government Department Syed Maqsood Anwar, and other key figures from NADRA, the Health Department, and UNICEF. The assembly addressed the constitutional mandate of the Local Government Department under the Balochistan Local Government Act of 2010 and 2020 to oversee birth, marriage, divorce, and death registrations.
During the meeting, it was reported that in June alone, Balochistan issued 6,279 birth registrations, 3,557 death certificates, 94 divorce certificates, and 3,089 marriage certificates. The meeting underscored the importance of birth registration for securing a child’s right to education, health services, inheritance, and legal identity.
Secretary Abdul Rauf Baloch highlighted the ongoing efforts to facilitate birth registration, including digital data entry initiatives with NADRA’s support and public awareness campaigns utilizing social media, mosques, schools, and public signage. He emphasized that birth registration is essential for obtaining other legal documents like ID cards and stressed the urgency for parents to register their children promptly.
Furthermore, the meeting discussed the potential removal of the birth registration fee and the extension of the registration period from sixty days to one year, pending approval from Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, to encourage compliance and ease the registration process for parents.