Nadra Chairman Tariq Malik has resigned from his position citing a “charged political environment.” In his three-page resignation letter, Malik highlighted his performance and the initiatives he undertook during his tenure as the head of Nadra. He also suggested that the federal government should avoid appointing serving or retired bureaucrats as the chairman of Nadra.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accepted Malik’s resignation and acknowledged his contributions to the country. Malik was appointed as the NADRA chief in June 2021 for a three-year term by the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government.
Prior to his role as NADRA chief, Malik served as the Chief Technical Adviser at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where he provided guidance on ‘Digital Governance’ to over 130 member states across different regions of the world. He also worked as a Senior Technical Consultant at the World Bank, where he played a crucial role in initiating the global ‘ID for Development’ (#ID4D) Program and developing international standards for digital identity.
Malik’s expertise in digital government earned him recognition as one of the World’s 100 Most Influential People in ‘Digital Government’ by the European think tank Apolitical. He was also named among the Top 100 Digital Influencers in the ‘Digital Community’ by One World Identity (OWI), a New York-based independent identity research and strategy think tank focusing on cybersecurity, digital commerce, and risk management.
Before his tenure at the World Bank, Malik worked with Teradata Inc USA, assisting various governments in optimizing the use of Big Data and advanced data analytics.
Tariq Malik is the son of the renowned scholar and educationist Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik, and he had previously served as NADRA chairman as well. Despite his resignation, Malik’s significant contributions to the field of digital governance and identity management remain noteworthy.
