The National Assembly was told on Thursday that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was considering the insertion of a new column in nomination forms to obtain information about dual nationalities, if any, of the candidates of future elections.
In a written reply, Law Minister Maula Bakhsh Chandio told the National Assembly during the question hour that the ECP had no data about dual nationalities of parliamentarians and provincial assembly members since there was no column in the nomination forms to obtain that information. To a question, the law minister said National Accountability Courts had decided 1,293 cases in the last five years, and 553 cases were still pending.
The communication minister told the House that last year’s floods had completely destroyed 410 kilometres and damaged 383 kilometres of National Highway Authority roads. The minister said the floods had washed away 20 bridges and damaged another 26. “PC-1 for post-flood reconstruction and replacement projects of Rs 23.6 billion has since been recommended by the CDWP (Central Development Working Party) for approval by ECNEC (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council).
Rehabilitation and reconstruction of flood-damaged (road) sections and bridges are yet to be undertaken awaiting approval of PC-1 by ECNEC and release of funds by the government,” the minister said in a written reply. Responding to a question, the defence production minister told the House that Pakistan had earned $299 million in the last five years from export of defence products to various countries in the public and private sector.
The defence minister told the House that out of a total of 51,133 flights operated by Pakistan International Airlines in 2010, 16,358 flights were delayed because of technical or unavoidable reasons, while 4,740 flights were delayed because of poor weather. Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah told the House that after the introduction of a computerised voting system in the country, around 37 million bogus voters would be removed from the ECP’s list.
The Election Law (Amendment) Bill of 2011, which was recently approved by parliament, would be sent to the president on Thursday (April 28) to be signed, Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi said, and added that the next general elections would be held in 2013. Chandio told the House that the ECP was preparing computerised electoral rolls in collaboration with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for the next general and local government elections.
He said the electoral rolls, containing accurate data of each voter, would be published by the end of the year and would help eliminate duplication and bogus votes. He said the voter lists were being prepared according to the new census blocks adopted by the Census Organisation during house-to-house counting.
“The electoral rolls will be according to the standards set by the national and international community for the conduct of free and fair elections,” he added.
With whom Pakistan has dual-citizenship Agreement
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While Pakistani citizens were originally banned from acquiring dual citizenship, the Pakistani government has 13 dual-citizenship agreements as of 2010. According to the Pakistani Ministry of Interior, any Pakistani citizen who acquires a citizenship from a country other than the 13 nations specified must renounce his Pakistani citizenship and relinquish all associated rights.
European Countries
1. The majority of countries that allow dual citizenship with Pakistan are located in Europe. These countries include the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium, Iceland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Ireland. Citizens of these nine European countries who were born in Pakistan, have married a Pakistani national or who are of Pakistani descent are eligible to apply for Pakistani citizenship. Of these countries, the United Kingdom had the highest number of Pakistani immigrants in 2009, with 800,000.
North American Countries
2. Both the United States and Canada have dual-citizenship agreements with Pakistan. As of 2009, it was estimated that around 600,000 Pakistanis lived in the United States and about 250,000 lived in Canada. Not all of these North American nationals have dual citizenship, but both countries have sizable immigrant communities of Pakistani descent.
Pacific Countries
3. Pakistan has dual-citizenship agreements with Australia and New Zealand, although these countries have considerably smaller Pakistani immigrant populations than the United Kingdom, United States or Canada. At the same time, as immigration restrictions become stricter in European and North American countries, more Pakistanis are looking to the Pacific region as an immigration option.
Middle Eastern Countries
4. The majority of expatriate Pakistanis, roughly 2 million people as of 2009, live in the Middle East. More than half of these people live in Saudi Arabia, which does not have a dual-citizenship agreement with Pakistan. While living and working in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or any of the other Gulf countries, Pakistanis can maintain only one citizenship. On the other hand, Pakistan has dual-citizenship agreements with Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
Other Countries
Dual-citizenship agreements can change from time to time or be relinquished if political relations sour between two countries. If you have any questions, contact your nearest Pakistani embassy or consulate. You can also contact the Pakistani Ministry of Interior in Islamabad with any questions regarding citizenship or the application process.
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