ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday gave bureaucrats a deadline to submit information regarding their dual nationality.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar was informed by the establishment secretary that only 204 of 33,000 officers had admitted to being dual nationals. Expressing surprise over the data, the bench summoned NADRA authorities to help track such bureaucrats.
At present, judges are not barred from holding dual nationality. However, when the top court disqualified dozens of parliamentarians for being dual nationals during the tenure of erstwhile chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, members of parliament campaigned for a similar ban to be imposed on the members of the judiciary.
Earlier, the Establishment Division sought all the relevant information from all government officers and gave a deadline of January 31 for the purpose.
SC had sought details of bureaucrats who carried a dual nationality and inform the court about the details on February 12.
After the apex court’s orders, officers belonging to the Pakistan Administrative Service had started sharing their details with the Establishment Division. So far, no officer from the Police Service of Pakistan had submitted details in connection with holding dual nationalities.
There is a general perception that many bureaucrats in Pakistan were dual nationals but have failed to provide their complete details to the Establishment Division.