Arshad Khan, the viral tea seller known worldwide as the “Chaiwala”, has officially been declared a Pakistani citizen after the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) reinstated his national identity card, confirming his legal citizenship status.
According to Arab News, Khan’s lawyer, Umer Ijaz Gilani, informed the Lahore High Court that NADRA had unblocked his client’s Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC). “Today, we informed the court that the computerized national identity card of Arshad Khan, commonly known as Chaiwala, has been unblocked,” said Gilani, adding that the matter was resolved at the highest government level after the court’s intervention in April.
A NADRA verification board conducted a thorough review of Arshad Khan’s family records and historical documentation, concluding that he was indeed a Pakistani citizen. Following this verification, NADRA officially restored his CNIC, and the Lahore High Court disposed of the constitutional petition accordingly.
Khan’s documents had initially been “mistakenly blocked” in 2017 after a misleading television report falsely alleged that he was an Afghan national. This occurred amid Pakistan’s broader campaign to repatriate undocumented Afghans — a drive that has seen more than 800,000 Afghan nationals deported since 2023.
The confusion had cast uncertainty over Khan’s identity and business operations, particularly as his passport was suspended, restricting his international travel. However, after NADRA’s confirmation, Khan’s Pakistani citizenship has now been reaffirmed, allowing him to renew his passport and continue expanding his international venture, Café Chaiwala, which operates both in Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
In an earlier interview with BBC Urdu, Arshad Khan clarified that his ancestors migrated from Afghanistan to Pakistan before the 1970s, and that he and his siblings were born in Islamabad. He said his father obtained a Pakistani ID card in 1984 and later traveled to Saudi Arabia on a Pakistani passport for work.
Arshad also shared that both his biological mother and stepmother are Pakistani Pashtuns, and that his maternal family members all hold valid Pakistani identification cards. The only exception, he said, was his mother, who never obtained an ID card because “in those days, many women preferred not to have their photographs taken.”
The reinstatement of his CNIC officially closes a years-long controversy, restoring the public image of Pakistan’s globally recognized Chaiwala, whose story of humble beginnings and international fame continues to inspire millions.