Pakistani citizenship: SC orders govt to decide fate of Indian husband in 15 days
Interior Ministry had challenged LHC order, directing Islamabad to grant citizenship to Asghar Haider
Interior Ministry had challenged LHC order, directing Islamabad to grant citizenship to Asghar Haider. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court has given the Interior Ministry 15 days to decide a case related to awarding Pakistani citizenship to an Indian man, who married a Pakistani woman in 2004.
A three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, resumed on Tuesday the hearing of the Interior Ministry’s two-year-old plea against a Lahore High Court (LHC) order, directing the federal government to grant citizenship to an Indian national, Asghar Haider.
During the hearing, Attorney General Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan and amicus curiae Salman Aslam Butt called the present law discriminatory and supported the idea of giving Haider Pakistani nationality.
However, the Additional Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti, who was appearing on behalf of the Interior Ministry, opposed their stance. Directing the ministry to pass a speaking order within two weeks, the court suspended its earlier notification to charge Rs5 million from the Indian man for a citizenship.
The bench questioned how a person could be deprived of a fundamental right due to lack of wealth. The case will be taken up again after the decision of the Interior Ministry.
SC to examine grant of citizenship to foreign national husbands
The interior ministry had challenged the LHC order in the apex court in 2016. Sub-section 2 of Section 10 of Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951 allows the grant of citizenship to a Pakistani national’s foreign wife; however, it prohibits a foreign national husband of a Pakistani woman to attain citizenship of the country.
In its plea, the government said the LHC did not consider the Indo-Pak relations and the judgement will cause an influx of Indian men into Pakistan, causing a threat to the national security.
The petition said Asghar Haider had applied for the Pakistani citizenship after marrying Rukhsana in 2004. He was later asked to deposit Rs5 million under the Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951.
However, instead of depositing the payment, Haider filed a writ petition along with his wife for the grant of citizenship, which was allowed by the LHC Multan bench on May 18, 2016.
Later, the Interior Ministry challenged the LHC order stating that the LHC has no jurisdiction to grant citizenship and it is mandatory to deposit foreign exchange equivalent to Rs5 million under Section 20 of the Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951.
The government contends that granting citizenship to a foreign woman married with Pakistani national cannot be treated in the same way as the marriage of a foreign man to a Pakistani woman.
It says the law cannot be said discriminatory and is not a violation of Article 25 of the Constitution, which states that all citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law and that there shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex.
The government has expressed apprehension that the foreign-origin man after marrying and obtaining the Pakistani nationality would be free to divorce his wife and move freely in Pakistan.
The Supreme Court has given the Interior Ministry 15 days to decide a case related to awarding Pakistani citizenship to an Indian man, who married a Pakistani woman in 2004.
A three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, resumed on Tuesday the hearing of the Interior Ministry’s two-year-old plea against a Lahore High Court (LHC) order, directing the federal government to grant citizenship to an Indian national, Asghar Haider.
During the hearing, Attorney General Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan and amicus curiae Salman Aslam Butt called the present law discriminatory and supported the idea of giving Haider Pakistani nationality.
However, the Additional Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti, who was appearing on behalf of the Interior Ministry, opposed their stance. Directing the ministry to pass a speaking order within two weeks, the court suspended its earlier notification to charge Rs5 million from the Indian man for a citizenship.
The bench questioned how a person could be deprived of a fundamental right due to lack of wealth. The case will be taken up again after the decision of the Interior Ministry.
SC to examine grant of citizenship to foreign national husbands
The interior ministry had challenged the LHC order in the apex court in 2016. Sub-section 2 of Section 10 of Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951 allows the grant of citizenship to a Pakistani national’s foreign wife; however, it prohibits a foreign national husband of a Pakistani woman to attain citizenship of the country.
In its plea, the government said the LHC did not consider the Indo-Pak relations and the judgement will cause an influx of Indian men into Pakistan, causing a threat to the national security.
The petition said Asghar Haider had applied for the Pakistani citizenship after marrying Rukhsana in 2004. He was later asked to deposit Rs5 million under the Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951.
However, instead of depositing the payment, Haider filed a writ petition along with his wife for the grant of citizenship, which was allowed by the LHC Multan bench on May 18, 2016.
Later, the Interior Ministry challenged the LHC order stating that the LHC has no jurisdiction to grant citizenship and it is mandatory to deposit foreign exchange equivalent to Rs5 million under Section 20 of the Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951.
The government contends that granting citizenship to a foreign woman married with Pakistani national cannot be treated in the same way as the marriage of a foreign man to a Pakistani woman.
It says the law cannot be said discriminatory and is not a violation of Article 25 of the Constitution, which states that all citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law and that there shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex.
The government has expressed apprehension that the foreign-origin man after marrying and obtaining the Pakistani nationality would be free to divorce his wife and move freely in Pakistan.