Bills seek dual nationality bar on public office

ISLAMABAD: Amid some sense of guilt and outbursts of patriotism, the National Assembly on Tuesday allowed the introduction of two private bills seeking to bar Pakistanis with dual nationality or foreign holdings from taking public office.
On the second private members’ day of its spring session, the house also heard the government come out strongly to defend its National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) after what it saw as an unjust attack on the institution by opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan the day before and some opposition lawmakers complaining of an influential Balochistan-based crime ring kidnapping children for ransom and hijacking vehicles from southern Punjab.
Acting Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi and PPP chief whip and Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Ahmed Shah regretted the tendency among most members reaching the house late resulting in the loss of as much as one hour a day, as happened on Tuesday, and both of them appealed to lawmakers to realise the seriousness of their job.
And it was after a postponement due to his late arrival that PML-Q’s Mohammad Raza Hayat Hiraj treated the house to a sentimental lecture in patriotism before the government, despite its reservations, agreed to the introduction of his bill seeking an amendment in the constitution to disqualify a person for service of Pakistan and membership of parliament or a provincial assembly on four counts.
These disqualifications, which appeared isolationist in the present-day world and could hit many present and future politicians, are: maintaining a foreign bank account, holding dual nationality or a permanent resident status abroad, holding an office of profit or interest in a foreign company, owning property or shares abroad, and carrying out business in any organisation based in a foreign country – all whether in one’s own name or in the name of one’s spouse, children or dependents.
Mr Hiraj, who was a minister of state for law in the previous PML-Q government under then military president Pervez Musharraf, cited what he called a bad name given to the whole 442-member parliament because of a mere about five per cent as one reason for bringing this bill so nobody exercising control over Pakistani taxpayers’ money have another nationality or foreign account and, amid cheers from his party desks, said in a challenging tone “let us see” which parliamentarians were going to oppose it.
An apparently dumbfounded Khursheed Shah, who had to handle the house legislative business while the newly appointed law minister, Maula Bakhsh Chandio, is yet to take oath of his office, allowed the bill to be introduced and referred to the concerned house standing committee for study, but noted that it would hit even a student studying abroad and having a bank account there.
Being a constitutional amendment, the bill will require a two-thirds majority in both the 342-seat National Assembly and the 100-seat Senate for its passage.
But another bill, authored by PML-N member Ms Tasneem Siddiqui, seeks an amendment in the Representation of the People Act, 1976, to bar a Pakistani citizen also holding the citizenship of another country from seeking election to parliament or a provincial assembly.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik assured the house that on Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s return from his current visit to China, he would arrange a “very high-level meeting” with him over the activities of criminals engaging in kidnappings from southern Punjab to the bordering areas of Balochistan and other activities as complained and blamed on influential people by three PML-Q members from south Punjab – Sardar Bahadur Ahmed Khan Sihar, Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood and Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari.
Earlier, the interior minister objected to the use of the description of “cronies” of President Asif Ali Zardari for officials heading Nadra by the opposition leader while opposing a government bill, called for its deletion from the record of proceedings.