Parliament Rejects President’s Decree on Population Registration Act

Afghan parliament on Monday unanimously rejected a legislative decree issued by the president that calls for change in some articles of the controversial Population Registration Act.

The decree calls for changes in articles six and seven of the law, suggests the words “Afghan” and “tribe” should be mentioned in the ID cards.

The issues of bringing amendments to the law became once again a hot topic in the lower house Monday’s session as the house’s chairman of interior commission, Mirdad Najrabi said that it has been a controversial issue among permanent commissions of the parliament.

“In the article six [of the law] it was suggested that religion, tribe and nationality should be added [in the ID cards],” Najrabi said.

During voting some lawmakers, meanwhile, asked for approval of the suggested amendments in the law.

“The state’s suggestion for adding tribe and nationality should be accepted and approved as it will solve many challenges,” said MP Nasima Niazi.

The decree, however, after long discussion was unanimously rejected by the lawmakers and the Speaker of the house Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi called on the government to enforce the original law.