Pakistan viral chaiwala Arshad Khan in trouble: Life has been a rollercoaster ride for Arshad Khan, the tea vendor who became a viral sensation in 2016. His blue eyes caught the eyes of the internet and by 2024 November, he got an investment of 10 million Pakistani rupees in the Shark Tank series. But since then, life of Arshad 'chaiwala' took a turn for the worse, with Pakistani authorities suspending his passport and national identity card. What just happened?

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Story of Arshad 'chaiwala'

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It was a normal day at his tea stall for Arshad Khan in 2016 when a photographer, Javeria Ali, clicked his photo and shared it on social media. 

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The photo went viral, with both women swooning over, and men impressed by, his stunning looks, particularly those blue eyes. He was interviewed in Pakistani media, and his tea stall soon became a bigger business. By 2023, he opened his outlet in London in 2023. 

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Why is Arshad Chaiwala's case in court?

The case pertains to whether Arshad is really a Pakistani. According to reports, his mother is Pakistani, but his father is a Pashtun of Afghan origin. But by way of birth, Arshad is a Pakistani. He was born in 1999 in Pakistan's Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

What is Nadra saying about Arshad?

Arshad has been caught in the Pakistan government's strict implementation of removing Afghans, or people of Afghan origin. The deadline to expel Afghan nationals had passed at the end of March, and thousands have been sent out of the country. 

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Nadra or National Database and Registration Authority is Pakistan's agency for the national identity database and registration of citizens. It issues the CNICs or computerised national identity cards as well as child registration certificates and identity cards for overseas Pakistanis.

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According to the Nadra and the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports, Khan has not been able to provide evidence to prove his citizenship.

Both his national ID card and passport have been blocked as a result.

Arshad is fighting back in court

Arshad has moved the Pakistan High Court, pleading for the unblocking of his passport and ID card.

Pakistan has been dealing with refugee flows from Afghanistan for decades. As tens of thousands crossed the border from the war-torn nation, Pakistan had issued Afghan citizenship cards or ACCs to them. 

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Now, Pakistan wants all those holding ACCs to go back to Afghanistan, particularly as relations between Islamad and the Taliban regime in Kabul have gone sour. While some 800,000 Afghans have exited Pakistan, some 3 million still remain in the country.

Arshad chaiwala fears deportation from Pakistan

Arshad is basically caught in the crossfire of these developments, and fears he would be deported.

His passport was first blocked in 2017 after media reports said he was not a Pakistani.
The reason for the blocking is that he is unable to provide details about his family from before the 1978 Afghanistan war, which was the reason for their migration to Pakistan.