Three Decades of a Baloch Citizen’s Struggle to Obtain an ID Card Amid the Islamic Republic’s Stringent Policies
According to the Balochistan Human Rights Group, Today Monday, October 27, 2025, a Baloch citizen without an ID card has been unable to obtain one despite three decades of persistent efforts, due to the stringent policies and regulations surrounding the issuance of identity documents for Baloch individuals without ID cards.
Sources from the Balochistan Human Rights Group report that this Baloch citizen, Nourahmad Barahouei, son of Hossein and Khan-Bibi, resides in the village of Dastkardan in the Sarakhs region of Razavi Khorasan Province. He has been pursuing an ID card since 1995. Documents obtained by the Balochistan Human Rights Group indicate that a request for issuing an ID card was submitted to the Mashhad Civil Registry Office on July 1, 1995. However, despite repeated follow-ups, no response has been received from the Civil Registry Office or relevant authorities, and he remains without an ID card to this day.
The lack of an ID card has deprived Nourahmad Barahouei of basic human rights, including access to insurance, education, employment, subsidies, a driver’s license, healthcare services, and even the right to vote. This situation has caused significant hardships not only for him but also for his family.
Many Baloch citizens in various regions of Balochistan and other provinces of Iran still lack identity documents. Discriminatory policies and bureaucratic obstacles, including those imposed by city and provincial Security Councils in the ID issuance process for Baloch individuals, have forced many to remain in a state of involuntary statelessness, depriving them of their fundamental rights.
