Nineveh Unified Card Department moved after PKK attempted to misuse ID issuance

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, a security source in Nineveh, in northern Iraq, announced that the Ministry of Interior relocated the Unified Card Department from Al-Qahtaniyah, near Sinjar, to Al-Baaj district in western Nineveh.

The source told Shafaq News Agency, “The Ministry acted after a Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ) official tried to issue a unified card for a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) member instead of his deceased cousin.”

"The Ministry cited technical reasons, but it was to prevent the PKK from interfering with the unified card issuance,” the source affirmed, pointing out that “the official attempted to issue the card with his deceased cousin's details but faced rejection upon discovery.”

The source further noted that "pressure on the Department led the Ministry to move it from the Yazidi-majority district to the center of Al-Baaj district, which is predominantly Arab."

Introduced by the Iraqi government in 2017, the unified ID card is a biometric identification that is difficult to forge, containing the holder's name, photo, fingerprints, and other personal details, and is required for transactions such as opening bank accounts, obtaining passports, and registering to vote.