ISLAMABAD: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) MNA Noor Alam Khan on Monday called for barring bureaucrats from holding dual nationality, highlighting a discrepancy between elected officials and civil servants under the Constitution.
Currently, Article 63(1)(c) of the Constitution disqualifies any person from being elected to the Majlis-i-Shoora (Parliament) if they acquire citizenship of a foreign country. However, bureaucrats are presently allowed to hold dual nationality. To address this, Khan has proposed amendments to the Civil Servants Act aimed at restricting civil servants from holding citizenship of any foreign country.
The proposal, discussed during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, pertains to the Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2024. According to the bill, “A civil servant holding dual nationality or citizenship of any foreign country shall not be entitled to appointment.”
During the committee session, Khan emphasised that bureaucrats should be prohibited from holding dual nationality. “If dual nationality is to be permitted, then parliamentarians and military personnel should also be granted this right,” he added, noting that the armed forces currently have no dual nationals.
PPP MNA Agha Rafiullah referenced past Supreme Court decisions that led to the disqualification of parliamentarians holding dual citizenship, while Cabinet Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal suggested reviewing cases of bureaucrats who acquired foreign citizenship by birth, with the possibility of including judges under the bill. Khan, however, opposed this review approach, arguing that the dual nationality of individuals should be ended altogether.
Committee Chairman Ibrar Ahmed requested data on the number of bureaucrats with dual nationality by birth. PML-N MNA Tahira Aurangzeb highlighted that her daughter, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, had renounced her Australian citizenship to contest elections.
Ultimately, six out of seven committee members voted in favour of the bill, supporting a ban on dual citizenship for bureaucrats.
