PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday issued notice to the attorney general for Pakistan to respond to a petition filed by a Pakistani woman and her Afghan husband against the Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951 claiming the law discriminates against woman.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan held preliminary hearing into the petition of Pakistani woman, Abida Bibi, and her Afghan husband, Asmatullah, who insisted the Citizenship Act and rules framed under it were unconstitutional on the ground of discrimination.

The bench observed that as vires of a law were challenged, it was necessary to hear the attorney general on that point.

Petition seeks CNIC for Pakistani woman, nationality for her Afghan husband

It ordered the fixing of the petition for hearing after a fortnight.

The petition has sought the court’s orders for the federal government to issue the Computerised National Identity Card to the woman petitioner and give her husband Pakistani citizenship.

Ijaz Khan Sabi, lawyer for the petitioners, said Section 10 of the Citizenship Act 1951 as well as Rule 14 of the Pakistan Citizenship Rules 1952 were in conflict with the Constitution as male citizen of Pakistan was entitled to get citizenship for his foreign wife but a Pakistani woman couldn’t get citizenship for her foreign husband.

He said Abida Bibi married Asmatullah involving their respective families in 2009 and that they had a proper nikahnama (marriage deed).

The lawyer said the couple had four children, including three sons and a daughter.

He said the woman petitioner contacted the National Database and Registration Authority to get CNIC, she was asked to produce CNIC of her husband, which she didn’t have.

The lawyer said the woman petitioner was a citizen of Pakistan by birth and that her parents were Pakistani nationals and therefore, under no excuse she could be denied a CNIC.

He said the act of Nadra in that respect was illegal.

OMBUDSMAN’S ORDER SUSPENDED: The bench suspended an order of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ombudsman for the Peshawar Development Authority’s director general to appear before him in a contempt case over non-compliance of orders.

It ordered the ombudsman, Waqar Ayub, to file reply to a petition of PDA DG Saleem Wattoo claiming the ombudsman’s order for him was illegal and was based on malafide.

Qazi Mohammad Anwar, lawyer for the petitioner, said the provincial ombudsman’s son, who worked at a private bank, had requested his client to shift the PDA bank accounts to his, but the latter declined and therefore, received a notice from the ombudsman seeking explanation on legality of the PDA after the enforcement of the KP Local Government Act.

He said his client had submitted a detailed reply to the ombudsman on the notice in which all the details about creation and functioning of the PDA were given.

The lawyer said after receiving the reply, the ombudsman insisted the contents of the reply amounted to the contempt of his office and therefore, he issued a notice to the petitioner asking him to appear before him on Oct 19 for explanation.

He asserted that the order of the ombudsman was illegal and unlawful and without jurisdiction.

The lawyer said the PDA was a government entity and had been functioning under a law.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2016