Open letter: Sheikh submits list of dual national MNAs to SC

List includes names of Asim Hussain, Raza Haroon, Shahbeen Rizvi, Tayib Hussain, Fauzia Ejaz and Jameel Ashraf.

ISLAMABAD:

Shahnaz Sheikh, a former lawmaker of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), has submitted a list of 20 MNAs who possess dual nationalities to the Supreme Court.

Sheikh’s membership was suspended by the Supreme Court in October 2012 for holding Australian nationality while being a Pakistani national and a member of the National Assembly.

In a letter written to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Sheikh requested the court to put the procedure – aimed at reimbursing benefits enjoyed by dual national MNAs – on hold until the final verdict of the case is announced.

The list included the names of Asim Hussain, Raza Haroon, Shahbeen Rizvi, Tayib Hussain, Fauzia Ejaz and Jameel Ashraf.

Sheikh told The Express Tribune that she wanted equal treatment. “If my membership can be suspended with a penalty, I want a similar verdict for other dual national lawmakers,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2013.