Six members of the Sindh Assembly – including four provincial ministers – resigned on Saturday, becoming the latest casualties of the Supreme Court’s and the Election Commission of Pakistan’s orders over the contentious dual nationality issue.
Four of the legislators belong to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), while the other two are from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Among those who have resigned are Minister for Finance and Energy Murad Ali Shah and Minister for Sindh Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority Sadiq Ali Memon from the PPP, and Minister for Information Technology Raza Haroon, Minister for Sport Muhammad Ali Shah, MPA Abdul Moid Siddiqui and MPA Hassan Raza Taqvi from the MQM.
Murad Ali Shah possesses Canadian citizenship, whereas Muhammad Ali Shah holds British nationality.
According to official sources, Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, while accepting their resignation, has de-notified the six MPAs and referred their cases to the provincial election commission. Sources, however, added that the provincial government has decided to appoint the outgoing ministers as advisers to the chief minister.
Earlier, two provincial legislators – Dr Ahmed Ali Shah of the PPP and Nadia Gabool of the MQM – faced a similar fate when they stepped down for possessing British nationalities on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Dr Asim Hussain, former federal minister for petroleum, had also resigned from the Senate on October 23, but was later appointed as an adviser to the prime minister. Similarly, on Supreme Court orders, Interior Minister Rehman Malik resigned from the Upper House but re-contested election for the Senate seat from Sindh.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Muhammad Farooq Buriro, acting secretary of the Sindh Assembly, said that November 30 (Friday) was the last date for lawmakers to submit affidavits regarding their dual nationality status, or else they would have to resign.
Buriro said Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim had directed the National Assembly speaker, the Senate chairman and provincial assemblies to send records of lawmakers who denied possessing dual nationalities.
He added that Justice Ebrahim had warned the assemblies that if they failed to follow his orders, he would write to foreign embassies to find out about the dual national status of the lawmakers. “Out of 168 MPAs, around 98 have sworn that they do not have dual nationality,” he said, adding that some members have directly submitted their affidavit to the ECP.
The acting secretary said that after the Sindh Assembly speaker would request the election commission for by-elections on the vacant seats.
Sources said that a few other MPAs, who have dual nationalities, may also submit their resignations soon.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2012.
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