LAHORE, July 1: The Lahore High Court asked a federal law officer on Monday to find out whether one could acquire US citizenship without losing Pakistan’s.

The question arose in the course of proceedings on a writ petition by Noman Ghumman, who has obtained US citizenship but wants to contest the upcoming polls in Pakistan.

Deputy Attorney-General Khwaja Saeeduz Zafar informed the court that under the Citizenship Act of 1951, Britain was the only country whose citizenship could be held simultaneously with the Pakistani nationality. The acquisition of citizenship of any other country entailed an automatic loss of Pakistani citizenship.

Justice Tasadduq Husain Jilani, who was hearing the petition, wondered how Mr Moin Qureshi, a US citizen of Pakistani origin, could become the caretaker prime minister of Pakistan in 1993? He asked the DAG to find out whether any notification was then issued to allow dual US-Pakistani citizenship to enable Mr Qureshi to become the country’s chief executive.

The judge also wanted to know whether the denial of dual nationality to Pakistanis settled in countries other than Britain was not discriminatory. The DAG submitted that reasonable classification was permitted by law. Britain stood out in 1951 as the former colonial power with whom Pakistan had a special relationship and which had then the largest concentration of Pakistanis abroad.

Justice Jilani asked the law officer to ascertain whether other dual nationalities had been allowed in the meanwhile to meet the changing requirements. A large number of Pakistanis were settled in the United States, Scandinavian countries and other states, who were also a source of forex remittances.

The petitioner also sought interim relief pending the disposal of his petition. The court issued notices in the main petition and the stay plea for July 29. —Staff Reporter