ISLAMABAD – Two days after the Senate elections, the Supreme Court has ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to halt the notification announcing the victory of four senators-elect for holding dual nationalities.
Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, who was hearing a case pertaining to dual citizenship of judges and civil servants on Monday, ordered to halt the notification after the attorney general informed the court that four senators, namely, Sadia Abassi, Haroon Akhtar, Nuzhat Sadiq and Chaudhry Sarwar, hold dual nationality.
The top court issued notices to the four individuals to clarify their positions after the ECP said some of these have already submitted affidavits to the commission giving up their dual nationality.
Chaudhry Sarwar, who belongs to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in a tweet clarified that he had given up his dual nationality in 2013.
Absolute baseless allegations circulating on the media that I am a dual national. I gave up my British nationality when I became the Governor of Punjab in 2013. I am now only a Pakistani passport holder. pic.twitter.com/dNjDjJwNlL
— Mohammad Sarwar (@ChMSarwar) March 5, 2018
Meanwhile, PML-N leader Saad Rafique took to Twitter to clarify that Nuzhat Sadiq had given up her US citizenship in 2012.
سینیٹر نزھت صادق امریکی شھریت 2012 میں ھی ترک کر چکی ھیں ، انکی دھری شھریت کی اطلاع یکسر غلط ھے – pic.twitter.com/FQOar4R8OS
— Khawaja Saad Rafique (@KhSaad_Rafique) March 5, 2018
Prime Minister’s sister Sadia Abbasi said that she does not hold dual nationality.
The apex court, however, said the senators still need to appear and clear their records.
According to a report submitted to the Supreme Court, the number of civil servants holding dual nationalities is 64 in Punjab, five in Sindh, nine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), eight in Balochistan, 28 in Azad Kashmir, and one in Gilgit Baltistan.
Justice Nisar, during the hearing, said that any civil servant found guilty of hiding information about dual citizenship will be removed from their position. He also noted that judges of the apex court were not allowed to hold dual nationalities due to the sensitive nature of their job.
Senate elections
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) backed independent candidates bagged 15 Senate seats across the country in the elections for the upper house of the parliament, held on March 3.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) managed to bag 10 seats from Sindh and two from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
PTI bagged five seats from KP, three general seats and one each in the woman and technocrat category. In addition, Chaudhry Sarwar won a seat in the general category from Punjab.
