Dual nationality case: SC drops proceedings against Shahbaz Sharif

Raja Riaz tells court he does not have evidence proving Punjab CM’s nationality status۔

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court dropped proceedings against Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in the dual nationality case on Wednesday.

Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Raja Riaz Ahmed conceded before the court that he had no evidence to prove that the chief minister held multiple nationalities.

A three-member bench of the apex court, led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, read out Riaz’s earlier statements, published in several newspapers, claiming there were reports of Shahbaz’s dual nationality.

“I had only said that there were news about it and the relevant institution should look into the matter,” he argued. The court also reminded Interior Minister Rehman Malik to submit a list of parliamentarians and legislators who hold dual nationalities by Thursday.

PML-N’s disqualified MPA restored

Meanwhile, the apex court also restored the membership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s MPA Chaudhry Waseem Qadir after he managed to convince the court that he, in fact, did not possess dual nationality.

The court was hearing a review petition Qadir filed against the court’s September 20 order disqualifying him along with 10 other parliamentarians for holding dual nationality.

Qadir told the court he only had a permanent Norwegian residence status, not Norwegian citizenship. The bench accepted his version and noted that Qadir travelled abroad on a Pakistani passport after obtaining visas. As a result, the September 20 order was recalled to the extent of his case only and he was restored as an MPA.

On the other hand, the court disqualified PML-Quaid’s MNA Shahnaz Sheikh for possessing dual nationality.  Sheikh’s counsel Advocate Munir Paracha informed the court that his client had a citizenship of Australia but she resigned voluntarily from the National Assembly seat on September 17, 2012; therefore the September 20 order of the court could not be applied to her case.

The court, however, observed that Sheikh should be treated at par with parliamentarians and legislators who had earlier been disqualified and ordered the National Assembly secretariat and the Election Commission of Pakistan to take necessary action.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2012.