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ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the defence ministry to furnish a comprehensive report disclosing dual nationality of the officers of the armed forces and also mentioning any bar on personnel of the armed forced to retain foreign nationality.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar that had taken up suo motu notice of the dual nationality of civil servants and judges also recalled that under the prevalent laws, dual nationality was not an offence. At the same time the court observed that certain offices should not be occupied by individuals having foreign nationality. If parliamentarians could be disqualified for having dual nationality then the same rule should also apply to the officers working in sensitive departments, the chief justice observed.
Chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) Usman Yousuf Mobeen told the court that according to the data provided by the federal and the provincial governments 1,116 officers out of a total of 228,769 government officials were dual nationals whereas the spouses of 1,249 government servants enjoyed dual nationality.
Senior counsel Shahid Hamid appearing as an amicus curiae presented a set of proposals also highlighting that a few years ago the information ministry had issued a notification suggesting that no foreigners could work in government departments like the communication, water and power, petroleum and defence.
Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2018
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Comments (32) Closed
Aug 01, 2018 09:08am
If military officials can’t have dual citizenship then why this law is not applied to the politicians.
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Aug 01, 2018 09:20am
Highly necessary and commendable step by the CJP
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Aug 01, 2018 09:33am
There are quite a few active and retired armed forces officers here in US with DUAL nationality. The funny thing is they are receiving full-pay from the armed forces plus they get Social Security from US. There are also over a thousand PIA employees who are collecting double pay. They have luxury flats in Defense rented out. The Chief Justice should look into this.
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Aug 01, 2018 09:43am
Excellent decision
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Aug 01, 2018 09:58am
SC seeks report about dual nationality of military officers"
Excellent. This is the way.....................
Please keep it up.
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Aug 01, 2018 10:05am
Well Done Chief Justice of Pakistan. We have to minimize the chances of Conflict of Intrest in all institution including military.
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Aug 01, 2018 10:31am
I am a dual national. However, I strongly support the idea that no government servant (military and civil) of grade 17 and above should be allowed to keep dual nationality. At sensitive positions, even immediate relatives (wife and children) should not be allowed to hold foreign nationality.
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Aug 01, 2018 10:31am
good step taken by the CJP .
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Aug 01, 2018 11:19am
@Chaya : read it carefully
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Aug 01, 2018 11:40am
@ MAK : Thanks for pointing this out. This should be probed thoroughly and rectified at the earliest.
I know of a retired PAF officer residing in one of the European countries who is getting his pension abroad in foreign currency (this does not happen in other cases) and enjoying host governmen't perks at the same time.
We cannot have different sets of rules for each individual and institution.
I hope the Supreme Court not just reads these comments but also takes corrective measures. If all rules are to apply to the civilians alone, this is then not the Law.
Enough is enough.
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Aug 01, 2018 11:58am
Good one! May we see the logical conclusions.
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Aug 01, 2018 12:00pm
Can't trust people with dual nationalities. There are some Pakistanis in US and other foreign countries working against the interest of Pakistan, like Hussain Haqani,
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Aug 01, 2018 12:27pm
No civil servant, no army personnel with dual citizenship shall be allowed to work in any government/defence and political position.
Pakistan is for Pure Pakistanis, dual nationals can just live and do business in Pakistan. They shall not be allowed to own agricultural land, land in urban areas shall be limited to one house in whole of Pakistan within a defined square meterage.
Dual nationality rule shall apply to judges, magistrate, police officers, diplomats as well
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Aug 01, 2018 12:32pm
@Chaya It does apply and politicians were disqualified for it. Armed forces in government offices must adhere to law too.
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Aug 01, 2018 12:32pm
Let us see how many big fishes come out of the cupboard.
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Aug 01, 2018 01:39pm
No dual foreign nationals should serve in Military or any sensitive institutions since they will pass sensitive information to other countries secret agencies, its like a country secrets are in the hands of foreigners.
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Aug 01, 2018 01:49pm
@ MAK
these dual foreign nationals that had or have high positions in government armed forces or parliaments could be very harmful to the country, this country is riddled with cancer of corruption in every hook and nook, dishonest politicians,famous party leaders government officers and army generals will surely bring harm to this nation, if they and their families prefer to stay abroad enjoying luxurious in both countries then what good they bring to the country other than harm,
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Aug 01, 2018 02:05pm
law should be equal for all
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Aug 01, 2018 03:04pm
When a person takes a foreign nationality he takes a oath of allegiance to that nation. that means that person is duty bound to uphold the interests of that nation. Some countries do not allow dual nationality due to this reason. There is no Law in Pakistan to bar dual nationality. But when elected a person has to take oath of keeping Pakistan First in all things and if that is person already a dual national than he has also taken a similar oath from that nation. Which oath should we believe in??????
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Aug 01, 2018 03:10pm
Then all foreign countries should ban dual nationals acquiring jobs?
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Aug 01, 2018 03:19pm
Military personnel having dual citizenship MUST be dismissed immediately.
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Aug 01, 2018 03:47pm
The fact that so many people in the services department of government, as reported above, can (and must) raise doubts about their sense of belonging, loyalty and trustworthiness. Mere taking notice of civil servants, judges holding dual citizenship will not work. It essentially implies that those people must have taken 'oath of citizenship' outside Pakistan. Action must be taken right in time!
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Aug 01, 2018 04:32pm
@Chaya it is applied to politicians you obviously don’t read papers....the answer should be if you can’t represent ur country in Parliament as a dual national then NO one in army or govt service should be allowed
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Aug 01, 2018 04:45pm
Good decision, rules should be the same for every one. i'm not against the army but due to some officers we are blaming to all army.
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Aug 01, 2018 05:23pm
National security and sensitive data protection should be of prime importance and dual nationality holders occupying positions where national security could/may be compromised, this loophole needs to be closed.
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Aug 01, 2018 06:36pm
@Mak for your kind information i wanted to tell you that when ever somebody have dual nationality wanted to join Pakistan armied forcies must have to surrender foreign nationality...
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Aug 01, 2018 07:06pm
Pakistan's constitution permits dual or more nationalities, it's not illegal to hold more than one. However, a government or public servant may not; unless they are retired.
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Aug 01, 2018 07:47pm
Nowhere in the world a government or active duty military person can have duel nationality. Good investigation in this area.
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Aug 02, 2018 12:48am
@ MAK
Mr. MAK,
Valid point.
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Aug 02, 2018 04:20am
Military is not above the laws.
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Aug 02, 2018 04:25am
@ Syed Zafar Kazmi U.S.A
Mr. Syed Zafar Kaumi U.S.A,
Agreed.
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Aug 02, 2018 08:39pm
In the interests of national security dual national must not be allowed to work for the government,judiciary and the armed forces. In some countries even if you acquire their nationality you are still barred from working in sensitive institutions unless you are born in that country. These countries acknowledge national security issues and formulate rules to protect their national interests. Pakistan should also consider its national interests and security as of paramount importance.
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