Cabinet wants to allow dual-national Pakistanis to contest elections but legal hurdles persist

Karachi: A proposal by the Pakistani cabinet to allow overseas Pakistanis to contest elections has been welcomed by political aspirants who hold dual nationality but constitutional experts warn that the decision would be difficult to implement without an amendment to the constitution.
Pakistan’s de facto information minister told journalists on Thursday that Prime Minister Imran Khan had set up a high-powered committee to chalk out a plan to make it possible for overseas Pakistanis to become members of parliament.
Although Pakistan’s constitution permits most citizens to hold dual nationality, lawmakers cannot. In 2012, the Supreme Court removed a senior politician from his post as interior minister of the country after he failed to provide proof that he had surrendered his British passport. The order was part of a wider court investigation into lawmakers who hold dual nationality with Western countries, including the United States.
The question of whether the constitution should be amended to allow for dual-nationality lawmakers has been at the center of an emotional public debate for years.
“This is odd and not less than surprising,” leading Pakistani lawyer Waqqas Mir said, commenting on the cabinet’s proposal.
According to Article 63(1)(c) of the constitution, “a person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) if he ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan or acquires the citizenship of a foreign state.”
Mir said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, which lacked a two-thirds majority in parliament, would have to table a constitutional bill in either the national assembly or senate to get the ball rolling on dual-nationality lawmakers.
“The bill can be originated in any of the two houses of parliament [senate or national assembly] where it needs to be passed with a two-thirds majority,” Mir said. “The bill will then be tabled in the other house where it should be passed with a two-thirds majority also.”
“But in case of any changes to the draft, it will be sent back to the house from where it originated and the process will be repeated,” the lawyer said. “After the passage of the bill from both houses with a two-thirds majority, the bill can become law after the presidential ascent.”
Lawyer and popular columnist Babar Sattar concurred: “This will require a constitutional amendment in Articles 62/63.”
However, many politicians in Pakistan who hold dual nationality, even opposition figures, have welcomed the cabinet’s proposal.
Raza Haroon, a general secretary of the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), who had to step down as minister for information technology in December 2012 because he held dual nationality, said the decision to allow overseas citizens to contest elections should have been taken years ago.
“Overseas Pakistanis have been contributing huge remittances and they are no less loyal than any other Pakistani,” Haroon told Arab News. “If Pakistanis having dual nationality can hold high positions in England and other countries then why not in their motherland?”
He gave the example of Syed Zulfi Bukhari, an adviser to the prime minister on overseas Pakistanis with the status of a minister, and said: “If one can serve as an adviser or minister of state, then why can’t he be elected?”
“Legislation should be done at the earliest to make overseas Pakistanis a part of the political and governance system,” Haroon said.
Veteran journalist and political analyst Mazhar Abbas, however, said dual nationals should not be allowed to contest elections, recalling that PM Khan was himself strongly opposed to the participation of dual nationals in elections when he was an opposition leader.
“Imran and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party would argue then that those with dual nationality could not be trusted as their loyalty was questionable,” Abbas said, saying it was possible Khan had changed his mind after meeting Pakistan-Americans during this week’s visit to the United States.
Lawyer Mir said an environment where the government and opposition relationship was deeply fractured, it would be hard for Khan to find supporters for any new legislation or amendment.
“The opposition feels persecuted right now and it’s highly unlikely that they would support PTI on any legislation in the current scenario,” Mir said.
Rehman Malik, the former interior minister who was removed from his post in 2012, said although Khan had opposed the participation of dual nationals in elections in the past, “his current stance is appreciable.”
“I personally believe that all political parties should support it if a bill is tabled for a constitutional amendment,” Malik said.

Cabinet wants to allow dual-national Pakistanis to contest elections but legal hurdles persist