Prism Reflections: The document doom loop of domicile certificates

There are few tests of a Pakistani citizen’s faith in the state tougher than the quest for a paper proving her child actually exists. It started innocently. My daughter needed a domicile certificate for a college entrance exam. The task seemed simple enough: make a visit to the government office that issues it, hand over the documents, pay the fee, and leave.

Thanks to Google Maps, I made it to the domicile office but couldn’t tell where the information desk was located. I had to ask at several desks before finding it. It was here that I was dutifully informed that one of the documents needed for a domicile certificate was a No-Objection Certificate or NOC. But where does one acquire an NOC? The person sitting at the desk shrugged. That was a mystery for me to solve.

I arrived at the relevant office, armed with everything experience has taught any Pakistani to carry: original documents, photocopies, extra photographs, copies of ID cards, copies of copies, a pen, patience, and the faint hope that the person behind the desk might know the procedure. What followed was nothing short of administrative gymnastics.

Official 1 examined my stack and confidently declared Document A was missing.

Official 2 looked at the exact same stack and insisted Document B was missing.

Official 3 suggested the first two had completely misread the........

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