The National Database Regulatory Authority (Nadra) on Friday dismissed its deputy chairman, Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, over misuse of authority following the conclusion of the inquiry against him.

Shah had already been posted as officer on special duty (OSD) as an inquiry, begun in August 2017, over charges of sexual harassment and misuse of authority was underway against him.

The official's appointment as the deputy chairman of the authority was also suspended by Lahore High Court (LHC) last year after it transpired that the former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had appointed him against the rules. LHC had restrained Shah from functioning and had also suspended his post.

The petitioner had argued that under the law there was no post of deputy chairman in Nadra. However, then interior minister Nisar Ali Khan chairing a board meeting approved the appointment of the respondent as deputy chairman.

Shah was elevated from the post of director general to deputy chairman in 2016 in order to streamline the affairs of the authority when it faced criticism for issuing computerised national identity cards (CNICs) to Afghan nationals, including former Taliban chief Mullah Mansoor, as well as a number of financial scams.