SC issues notices to dual-national lawmakers

Court asks Interior Minister Rehman Malik to produce list of dual-national lawmakers.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has issued notices to several legislators, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, directing them to appear in the court in the dual nationality case on Wednesday (October 3).

According to an SC press release, the notices have been issued to Begum Shehnaz Sheikh along with a reply submitted by a journalist, Umar Cheema, and attached documents along with a notice to Cheema as well.

A notice has also been issued to MNA Ghulam Mujtaba Rai to appear and confirm whether he is a Canadian national.

Senator Rehman Malik, the interior minister, has been directed to appear and produce a list of parliamentarians and members of provincial assemblies as it has appeared in newspapers, copies of which have been placed on record, that there are so many dual national lawmakers.

And along with notices, copies of the news items published in different news papers as has been noted in an order dated September 22, are also supplied to him.

It appears that the interior minister, in his press conference/press talk dated September 20 and 21, had mentioned that if he was asked by the Supreme Court or by the government, he could supply the names of lawmakers who enjoy dual citizenship. Therefore, he is called upon to assist the court.

The information secretary has also been directed to submit transcript of the interior minister’s press conference wherein he made the above statement and it was telecasted on TV, on or before October 2 for perusal and using them in the court, if need be.

A letter was issued to journalist Umar Cheema to furnish details to substantiate the stand taken by him with regard to dual nationality of certain parliamentarians enabling the Supreme Court to deal with such parliamentarians equally in terms of Article 25 read with Article 5 of the Constitution. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2012.