Not just Haqqani’s spouse
Although most people will deny having dual nationality, the fact is that several members from every political party have a dual nationality. Reportedly, the PML-N has about 35 such members in the National Assembly and the Senate; the MQM has nine and the PML-Q approximately 14. These people might not have disclosed dual nationality as the law permits them to retain dual citizenship. In the 2002 elections, the Musharraf government, in particular, had encouraged many Pakistani expatriates to come and join active politics and become members of the assemblies. So, the issue of cheating the law does not necessarily arise here.
But the more important question is that is parliament the only source for leaking of information? Or will this rule just be applied to elected representatives who may have less information than many others in the state apparatus? It was almost a year ago that the honourable CJ had administered oath to a Canadian national (dual nationality of course) as the auditor-general of Pakistan. This was done after a lot of noises in the media regarding his several passports and his open admission of having dual nationality. In fact, he came on television and said that the law permitted him to have dual nationality. It is worth reminding that the auditor-general of Pakistan has access to far greater confidential information due to his being the keeper of the expenditure of all government money.
May one also remind the honourable court that it was and still is quite fashionable for affluent Pakistanis, which includes senior military, civil bureaucracy and judiciary, to seek dual nationality to secure the future of their children. So there are hundreds and thousands of cases in which state functionaries and even members of the judiciary or their families have dual allegiance. Around a couple of decades ago, even spouses with foreign nationalities was not a welcome affair and officers in certain key ministries such as the Foreign Office and the military would have to seek permission before marrying foreigners. Surely, there is much danger in loose pillow talk. However, this changed, especially as countries like Canada and Australia opened up to migration by foreigners and Pakistan’s internal insecurity problems increased.
The vital issue at this stage is how to bell the dual nationality cat? Where does one begin to redraw the principle of allegiance to the state, particularly in a state that has the tradition of generous norms on the issue? It’s not just a matter of what other countries such as India, the US and others do, but what was practiced for so long in this country. Pakistan is in the habit of importing expatriate Pakistanis to perform sensitive jobs such as running the economy and even the country sometimes. Twice, we have imported prime ministers from the US and there is a long line of finance ministers and other people obtained for senior positions courtesy the IMF and the World Bank. Very senior finance people such as Dr Ishrat Husain or the (late) Dr Mehbubul Haq (and spouse), for instance, have a permanent residence in Washington DC to which they return (or used to return) regularly. Surely, there is a lot that travels back and forth without causing any great risk to the state, or unless there is something we don’t know about these people.
Thus, the ruling may not be as easy as it sounds because it now requires a serious rethink on where and how to draw a line as far as allegiance to the state is concerned. Such rethink does not fall in the purview of the court but the parliament and the political community at large.
Published In The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2012.
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@Ordinary Villager: I am sorry to say but there is no parliamentarian in the ANP which has a dual nationality. Please correct your information. Thnx.
And what if a party's leader has dual nationality ? The chief of MQM, Altaf Hussain has dual nationality I think, or perhaps, he has single nationality and that is of U.K. In that case should the MQM be allowed to contest election in Pakistan ??
As far as I know, India, China, Germany, USA, etc. do not permit dual citizenship for government officials. Why should we permit it? Is it because our govt. officials and their families are the ones who are mostly benefiting from it in Pakistan.
That dual citizens should not be able to hold high office in Pakistan because their loyalties would be divided is conjecture and there has never been any evidence produced that dual citizens are less loyal that citizens with a single citizenship. It presumes that every dual citizen is less loyal and that the mere possession of single or dual citizenship is enough to assess loyalty. Consider this; is a person with single citizenship but who has extensive foreign business interests (the Sahrif brothers or Ishaq Dar) automatically more loyal than a dual citizen who has all or most of his business and family interests in Pakistan? What about people married to foreign nationals or whose children live in a foreign country (Imran Khan)? Dual nationals and for that matter even foreign nationals can be very loyal to the country they work for. Pakistan’s first military chief, Gen. Gracy, who lead the first war in Kashmir was British. The foreign coaches who lead out cricket team seem no less committed even when we are opposing their home country’s teams. The many Pakistanis who believe in the establishment of a Khilafat or those who seek the separation of their respective provinces from Pakistan could hardly be described as loyal. Yet we will let them continue to serve as Parliamentarians just because they only have one passport- verses someone who has demonstrated absolute loyalty, but has dual nationality. The papers you hold are not a measure of loyalty. If there are concerns about the loyalty of lawmakers and bureaucrats then the solution is to look at their behavior in its entirety, to conduct background checks and effective monitoring of their activities.
Constitutional command is unambiguous and as long as it is there, nobody should be member of parliament with dual nationality.
While it is true that there maybe many members of Parliament who have dual nationalities, it should be noted that according to Article 63 1(c) a person is disqualified to be a member of the parliament if he/she "acquires the citizenship of a foreign state". Now maybe, this needs a rethink, but as long as this article exists, a dual nationality holder cannot be a member of the parliament. Also, this needs to be applied to ALL members involved and not just to Ms. Ispahani and Rehman Malik.
we imported?
Quite agree with Ayesah Siddiqa, There are hundreds of thousands people working at important positions and hold dual nationality, does it mean they all are disloyal to this land. Either the several judges even in the cadre of Supreme Court bench or their family members would be holding dual nationality, What about them? And what about he auditor General ( as mentioned by Ayesha Siddiqa) that is being appointed by the same Supreme Court? Why these concerns of allegiance are more severe in case of PPP only?. If really SC have some concerns it should go for every citizen of Pakistan holding a dual passport and If it does not go, it means that is simply witch hunting of PPP members.
I totally agree with the writer. There are many others who have been at sensitive key positions where they have an access to more strategic information. The court should also look into that part of the story.
The good Dr is missing the point. The Supreme is only implementing the law. Instead of supreme court the Dr should address the legislator to improve the law & remove the contradictions in law & the constitution if any.
There is no LAW in the country; might is always right.Did the honourable CJ ever think how convicted people are sitting and ruling the country. In western democracies politicians resign/quit over just allegations and scandals. In pakistan the law says any one who spends one day in jail is ineligible for ANY government service. In sheer contrast another person spending 10 years in jail & becomes president. This is the hight of justice. Ironically judiciary is making statements, speeches & sermons but no solid decisions.The people of pakistan are deprived of basic fundamental amenities (electricity, gas, water, health).Is this not human right violations by the ruling class?
What is the stance of PTI? Why is Taliban Khan still silent on this issue? Why can't he come up with any stand? Is he in UK to see his British National sons or is he in USA to look after his 19 year old daughter Tyrean???
What about Shaukat Aziz ??, he was PM and at the helm of everything .He returned back to West after his temporary job as PM was over.Can Pakistan have faith on him.He may be US or UK citizen even.
@DB
Military rules are clear because we are at war with the world. There are several countries where you do not need to be a citizen to serve in their armies.
Agree with you Begum Sahib.
Hope you are not making having a residence in the US as something to be included in the "re-think".
Next, some nut will say that they must provide information of their foreign bank balances.
The people you mention have spent decades in the DC area. I don't know their status. It always make good economic sense to buy rather than rent.
Article 63 (clause c) of the constitution of Pakistan states the disqualification for membership of parliament: "ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan, or acquires the citizenship of a foreign State". There are no dramas here, if similar disqualifying rules apply for other office bearers in public service, these should be upheld too.
Rather than condemning the judiciary, perhaps one need to argue for amending the disqualification rule.
@ghayyas: Military rules are very clear cut. Dual nationals must surrender their other country citizenship before applying.
Whats the issue? The Saudis, Emiratis and now the Turks mediate between national political parties and facilitate "deals" with even the military and judiciary involved. And as far as China is concerned, Pakistan as surrendered everything, including ceded land..... So whats the issue about foreigners running the country? That has always been the case!
@Shahzad Kazi: I am afraid you might be looking at the issue from the surface only. I don't think it is easy for you to be a dual citizen and hold any influential political position in US being a dual citizen. Forget about being elected, even finding a mediocre job that involves exposure to sensitive data requires security clearance and people with dual citizenship always get a lot of trouble in getting these clearances. As someone concluded well on the issue, most of the countries look at dual citizens with suspicion when it comes to the issue of handing over sizable responsibility.
@BlackJack: Well Rehman Malik obviously gave up his citizenship. If he gave it up only recently as detractors claim - that makes his commitment to Pakistan doubly evident because even he must know that PPP is not going to be elected at least in the immediate next elections. So his wilingness to burn his boats must be commended whatever one's opinion may be about his competence.
@Ordinary Villager: "My MNA is a dual national and now it is summer and he is abroad and for the past four years he lives for eight months abroad and for four months here"
Why do you elect such a person then? Anyway I don't think Ayesha is necessarily saying that dual nationals should not be elected. She is saying that if dual national's allegiance is in question, should it just apply to elected people? Why not to judges and generals? She specifically gave an example of an auditor general appointed by the same CJ who disqualified Farahnaz and Rehman Malik despite being a dual citizen. If the concern is ,as was explained in the judgment about allegiance of dual nationality holders, why was such concern not evident when swearing in the auditor general?
Mush mum was an American national and so was he. Little mentioned fact. Also how about Governor Ishrat ul ebad.??
All government officials that are dual nationals or who have dual national spouses or close family members should be not be part of the government of Pakistan. They should resign.
A specific article of our constitution does not permit dual nationality for elected members of the parliament. It is simple as that. However, there is no mention of civil servants or military personnel in that article. I think some rules do exist for CSS selectees as well as military people.
I think the question is simple, if dual nationality were not permissible, would these people still opt to remain Pakistani citizens? I think not.
A Person who seeks dual nationality is in fact proving through his deed that he is by chance a Pakistani and by choice not.
@Ordinary Villager: I agree with what you are saying and I do understand your sentiments. British born Pakistanis dont understand your problem but I do and millions like me who have immigrated in last 10-20 years do understand the problems but what we dont understand is that why our loyalty is being questioned? and why do you vote for such people who spend more time outside Pakistan ? if you are frustrated please dont vote for them but please stop bashing hard working Pakistanis living abroad we are as Pakistani as you are
The bigger question here is that is a dual nationality holder less patriotic and honest than a person who has only one nationality. Honesty integrity and patriotism has nothing to do with the fact that you hold one or multiple passports. It is easy to label a dual nationality holder as a spy, but the fact of the matter is that most individuals on the payroll of foreign countries are not dual nationality holders. In terms of corruption and dishonesty, you do not have to a citizen of a foreign country to maintain accounts abroad. In fact several Pakistan nationals own property and maintain bank accounts overseas.
The dual nationality issue will have to be tackled by the parliament as the courts will simply follow the constitution. If someone disagrees with this law, they will have to amend the constitution.
As far as the US laws are concerned, individuals may hold dual nationality. As citizens of the United States, dual nationality holders can not only vote, but can run for public office. The only position that is reserved for US citizens by birth is that of the President.
@Ammar: Well most of the readers of ET are infact dual nationals or living abroad and they will not understand the sentiments of the local public of Pakistan at all so i dont want to argue with you at all my friend but i agree with Ayesha Siddiqui 110% percent. My MNA is a dual national and now it is summer and he is abroad and for the past four years he lives for eight months abroad and for four months here and if someone expects he is doing something for Pakistan then sorry they are utterly wrong.
@Ordinary Villager: Dear Sir, I don't agree with the term foreign nationals, it gives an impression that these people are not Pakistanis. They have dual nationality and as mentioned by the writer it is allowed per the Pakistani law. I have no knowledge about US law on dual nationality but in British parliment and local councils there are many members who have dual nationality. Infact if you are a common wealth national (even if you don't have British passport) living in the UK you can vote for local and parliment elections.
I definitely agree with her on all accounts. Also just look at the hypocrisy of PMLN and PMLQ that PMLN have 35 , PMLQ have 14 members who are foreign nationals and they are forcing Rehman Malik to resign while their parties are filled with foreign nationals. The most interesting thing is that MQM is a small party and they have 9 foreign nationals in their ranks.!!!. PPPP have more than 50 foreign nationals and same is the case with ANP. You will never hear in America or in Europe or in any developed country that dual nationals can take public offices but a developing and most of all corrupt countries like Pakistan have tons of stories like these.