As the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decided to implement the law barring dual nationality-holders from contesting elections for parliament, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Tasneem Siddiqui introduced a private member’s bill in the National Assembly on Tuesday seeking to bar dual nationality-holders from holding public office.
“No citizen of Pakistan or a civil servant or a civil servant possessing or who shall possess dual nationality or citizenship or nationality of any other country being a citizen of Pakistan shall be entitled to apply or to be appointed or continue to be a civil servant,” The Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill of 2011 states.
The draft bill, which seeks amendments in the Civil Servants Act of 1973, proposes further that any civil servant who upon the commencement of the act was in possession of dual citizenship or nationality of any other country should be deemed to be ceased to hold his or her post, office or service from the date of the citizenship or nationality and should also refund all salaries, benefits and other perks availed to the federal government. If any civil servant acquired the citizenship or nationality of any other country, they would stand terminated from their post, office or service, said the bill.
Tasneem Siddiqui and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s Nasir Ali Shah separately introduced two private member’s bills seeking to bar dual nationality-holders from contesting national or provincial elections. Shah proposed a limit of expenses a candidate would be allowed for contesting parliamentary elections in his bill. Both bills were referred to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice. None of the private member’s bills were opposed by the Chief Whip of the PPP Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah.
TIGHTER LAWS: Tasneem Siddiqui also moved another bill titled the Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill of 2011 to tighten the laws for Pakistani citizens to acquire the citizenship of any other country.
DEFILING GRAVES: Justice (r) Fakhar-un-Nisa Khokhar and Yasmeen Rehman moved another bill to amend the Pakistan Penal Code of 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1898, titled the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill of 2011. In her bill, Justice (r) Khokhar proposed a 10-year sentence for defiling, damaging or digging graves or burial places.
Bill barring dual nationals from civil office introduced
