ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday asked the Interior Ministry to send in writing its proposal to place the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) under its administrative control for three months to complete verification of voters’ thumbprints free from external interference.

Informed sources told Dawn that Interior Secretary Shahid Khan called ECP Secretary Ishtiak Ahmad Khan to convey the government’s decision to this effect and was told to send the proposal in black and white.

“At the moment we do not know what exactly the Interior Ministry wants us to do. Once we receive a detailed proposal in writing, it will be placed before the Commission for a decision,” a senior ECP official said.

A day after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced the decision to place Nadra under the ECP for three months, acting Chief Election Commissioner Justice Nasirul Mulk visited the Nadra office. But, the visit had nothing to do with the takeover. The purpose of the visit was to attend a briefing-cum-demonstration of an electronic voting machine (EVM) developed by Nadra in the wake of ongoing thumbprint verification controversy.