Discriminating against Pakistanis

SUKKUR: There are probably very few nations in the world that discriminate against their own citizens, especially when those citizens choose to adopt a single nationality, refusing to pledge the oath of loyalty to another country and are unwilling to abandon their motherland for better financial or welfare benefits. Does our ruling elite consider Pakistani citizens fit only to elect them and not suitable enough to hold public offices of importance which impact the lives of those who have chosen to live and die in Pakistan, with no split loyalties or other vested interests? Are we really truly liberated? Anybody who is born in Pakistan, irrespective of his or her faith or ethnicity, is a son or daughter of this soil, regardless of the origin of his parents or grandparents. How else can state-owned corporations like the Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan Steel Mills, PIA, and key financial regulatory institutions like the State Bank of Pakistan, the Federal Board of Revenue, and even sensitive agencies like the FIA and NAB, when hiring, explain their preference for those holding dual nationalities over those who hold better qualifications, are more experienced, have no conflicts of interest, are more honest, and hold only the Pakistani passport?

There needs to be an investigation into this phenomenon. Is it to facilitate massive flights of capital from Pakistan and help our corrupt bureaucracy and political elite transfer billions through airports, seaports and border crossings? There must be some reason for this discrimination. Is it so that these select dual nationals, with a history of financial improprieties, can safely escape to newly adopted countries and evade any attempt that is made to investigate their criminal financial ‘terrorism’?

Aneela Chandio

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2015.

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