FIRST the good news: on Feb 21, 2026, Sindh carried out its first real-time digital birth registrations of four newborns at public teaching hospitals — a long-awaited move towards reducing bureaucracy and improving archaic processes. The first paperless registrations were accomplished under a digital framework that integrated these hospitals with Nadra’s Birth Notification Tool (BNT). The Sindh government and Nadra indeed deserve a pat on the back. Registration of birth at source hugely shortens delays, reduces errors and most importantly, eliminates the misery and frustration of obtaining birth certificates through union councils (UCs). One hopes that Sindh (and all other provinces) will not limit themselves to mere photo-op ceremonies but institutionalise these registrations as routine, real-time, at-source processes for every birth in Pakistan.

Now the bad news: according to Nadra’s annual performance report submitted to the interior ministry, approximately 31.9 million births registered with UCs have not yet been incorporated into Nadra’s database. This figure, however, excludes a far more critical and invisible group of children whose births were never ab initio registered with any UC. Historically, a significant........

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