According the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, citizenship is defined as the legal right of belonging to a particular county. Dual citizenship then means belonging to two different countries at the same time (e.g., Pakistan and United Kingdom).
The meaning of nationality is the legal right of belonging to a particular country. Dual nationality then means a) the legal right of being a citizen of two countries or b) a large group of people with the same race, origin, language etc but with different nationalities such as in the case of the former USSR.
When the 1973 Constitution was amended by General Ziaul Haq under the 8th amendment, Article 63(1)(c) was incorporated asserting that a person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen and from being an MP if he ceases to be the citizen of Pakistan or acquires the citizenship of a foreign state. As the world is becoming a global village, the concept of dual citizenship is becoming increasingly irrelevant, and may in fact become a basic human right over time.
Why do our parliamentary members and judiciary do not want to progress with time? Why do we want to remain in the past?
If the United Kingdom, US and other countries have no objection to Pakistanis keeping a dual citizenship, why is the judiciary not suggesting the federal government to remove such extreme clauses from the constitution which are affecting the interest of the Pakistani public?
PTI and PPP are assuring the expatriate Pakistanis that they would be given the right to vote in the upcoming elections. However, they have no right to stand as a candidate in the election. Why are sate institutions’ heads so actively confusing people?
If a person is able to obey the laws of both countries, why is he deprived from his freedom of choice? It would be interesting to know what bearing the Supreme Court verdict will have upon hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis who have dual citizenship and are sending more than US $10 billion foreign exchange earning to Pakistan.
It is up to the Speaker of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Senate to decide about the disqualification of their respective institution’s members.
Lastly, the parliament should annul laws that create ambiguity in the minds of people and remove the relevant clauses from the constitution.
S T HUSSAIN
Lahore
