Dual nationality: LHC seeks Rana Asif's written reply

PML-N MPA admits being a Canadian national, but not a citizen.

LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday sought a written reply from Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) minority MPA Rana Asif Mahmood on a writ petition seeking his disqualification for having dual nationality.

The MPA admitted before the court that he has a Canadian passport as he is a Canadian national but argued that he was  not a Canadian citizen. The court directed him to file his written reply on the issue.

The judge issued this order on the petition moved by Faisal Ilyas Sadiq through his counsel Saiful Malook.

Mulook submitted that according to the Section 4 of the Canadian Passport Order 1981, only that person shall be given a Canadian passport who is a citizen of Canada.

Petitioner Sadiq, through his counsel, argued that the respondent was having an overseas identity card which is granted only to a Pakistani citizen who possesses a  passport of a country other than Pakistan. He alleged that Mahmood is a Canadian national and under the Article 63 of the Constitution, a person holding dual nationality could not be elected as member of the national or provincial assembly.

He further contended that Mahmood was a Muslim but was elected as a Punjab Assembly member in 2008 general election against one of the seats reserved for non-Muslims.  He said that Mahmood’s provincial finance minister portfolio was also taken back because he is the citizen of Canada.

He added that Mahmood’s membership can be suspended till the court passes a final verdict as the Supreme Court has done in the dual nationality case.

The petitioner alleged that Mahmood is a Canadian businessman but got elected as an MPA by painting himself as a Christian.

Some of his opponents, in search of documents to prove that he was a Canadian national, found his identity card showing him as a Muslim, he added.

He also said that they found an identity card attributed to Asif, issued in 2009, for overseas Pakistanis which also showed him as a Muslim. He also presented the card to the court.

The petitioner also said that according to Nadra’s record, Mahmood’s three children were also shown as Muslim but his wife is shown as Christian in the identity cards.

On the other hand, Mahmood’s counsel had contested the case of his client being a non-Muslim, pleading that he had been wrongly depicted as a Muslim in Nadra’s record due to a typographical mistake, which had been later corrected.