LAHORE, July 31: The Lahore High Court reserved its order on Wednesday on an American-Pakistani’s plea for citizenship rights, including the right to contest polls.

Opposing the petition earlier, Deputy Attorney-General Khwaja Seeduz Zafar argued that Section 14 of the Citizenship Act, 1951, clearly barred dual nationality.

Britain and 12 other countries were exempted under special arrangements, which were not possible under the United States law. There was no discrimination and the exemptions were based on reasonable classification.

The DAG said a law might lead to anomalous results but it had to be enforced so long as it did not violate the Constitution. In his view, no constitutional violation was involved in the provisions of the Citizenship Act.

Former caretaker premier Moin Qureshi, he said, never applied for US citizenship and always carried a Pakistani passport.

Justice Tasadduq Husain Jilani reserved his order after hearing the law officer, amicus curiae Shabbar Raza Rizvi and petitioner Umar Ahmad Ghumman’s counsel, Syed Mohsin Abbas.