Eminent lawyer and former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Barrister Ali Zafar has emphasized that nationality rule should be applicable only to the parliamentarians while the rest should be exempted.
“I believe that dual nationality should not be an entry barrier to contesting elections or to contributing otherwise in the political sphere, said the former Attorney General while talking about this anomaly.
He said that a person’s loyalty was not a function of nationality. If that being the case, he argued, then people should be generally honest and just to their country of origin. We know, he mentioned, that this had never been the case.
Elaborating on the issue, he said: “Today when the idea of the nation-state is eroding and internationalisation of the world is transcending borders making nationality a benchmark of productivity and performance is being archaic.
The only variable that must guide our instinct to label others’ loyalty is their passion for the development of their country of birth. Never had Pakistanis living abroad lagged in sending charities to assist Pakistanis in the time of crisis or natural calamities. Also if they can participate in elections, which means they are sending their representative to the parliament, why cannot they contest the same elections?
By all means, a representative is of little value for a person sitting abroad as compared to his/her direct involvement in the electoral business.” Talking about Tania Andrus and Dr Zafar Mirza’s resignation from Prime Minister’s cabinet, he said that as per their statements it seemed they had to resign because of the public pressure. “Instead of becoming hostage to the public opinion — that dual nationals are not loyal — we rather should endeavour to change it.”
Keep single nationality rule for MPs only
