Apropos of the reports that the bill which intended to debar those holding dual nationalities from holding public office has lapsed. It is a sad reflection on the MNA who moved this bill with such fanfare on almost every private television and then failed to follow up, because he either lacked the will, or that was never his objective. The mere fact that this bill was allowed to lapse shows the intensity of its fall-out had it been adopted.
No other democratic transparent sovereign state would allow those who have no stakes in a country, to hold public elected office, or be a paid regular servant of the state. Many members of Pakistan’s powerful corrupt ruling elite, be they political opportunists, or members of our civil or khaki bureaucracy, hold dual nationalities or residential status, which helps them transfer their ill-gotten wealth to their newly adopted countries. Corruption will continue to thrive and destroy this nation’s economy if those holding dual nationalities or residential status are not debarred from holding public office.
Members of this elite dual nationality holders club, allow even retired khaki and civil servants to enjoy benefits like subsidised allotment of prime real estate plots, although they have taken an oath pledging undivided loyalty to their new state of adoption. The only hope is that the Supreme Court of Pakistan takes note of this irregularity that threatens our national security and economic survival. The cancer of corruption today poses the biggest threat to our national security.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
