NA panel opposes govt bill aimed at allowing dual nationals to resume their Pak nationality

ISLAMABAD: Majority members of a parliamentary body on Monday strongly opposed a government bill seeking to allow dual nationals to resume their Pakistani nationality.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior which meets with MNA Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz in the chair deferred the “Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2024 after the members of the committee opposed the bill and suggested holding further deliberation over it.

According to the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, a large number of Pakistani diaspora are complaining that they had to renounce their Pakistani citizenship as a condition for acquiring citizenship of a foreign country of residence or stay.

Whenever such countries enter into dual nationality arrangements with the government, there is no provision within the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 which allows the resumption of Pakistan citizenship, it says. It says that the amendments have been proposed in section 14-A of the said Act which will allow Pakistani diaspora to resume their Pakistani citizenship.

MNA Syed Agha Rafiullah said that the committee should be informed about how many Pakistanis hold dual citizenship and the number of people who have renounced their dual citizenship. Did the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) have data on how many individuals hold dual citizenship with which countries, he asked.

He said that last year, one individual was granted relief on dual citizenship and then he was given a significant position.

Sardar Nabeel Ahmed Gabol said that legislation should not be passed to benefit a single party or individual. I strongly oppose this proposed legislation. Gabol suggested that in the next meeting, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be summoned to provide detailed information on this matter.

MNA Zartaj Gull said that this is a very important matter; therefore, it should be deferred till the next meeting to discuss it in detail. She also said that laws should not be passed for the benefit of specific persons.

Opposing the bill, MNA Abdul Qadir Patel said that at present, our 22,000 bureaucrats hold dual citizenship. “The 90 percent of grade 21 to 22 officers are holding dual nationality,” he said, adding that why bureaucrats are allowed to hold dual citizenship while judges and parliamentarians are not allowed. He also pointed out that a provision should include the bill that anyone with dual citizenship should not be appointed on important position.

On the other hand, MNA Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry supported the bill.

The committee also discussed the Pakistan Land Port Authority Amendment Bill, 2024, seeking to setup the Pakistan Land Port Authority (PLPA) to provide and administer an integrated system of facilities for the cross-border movement of goods and passengers at the land ports in the country.

Patel raised concerns about the establishment of authorities at the Gwadar, Qasim, and Karachi ports, questioning who would have the final authority over them. The bill should be first discussed in the committee after the approval of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), he said, adding that ports are listed under entry II of the federal legislative list part one.

Rafiullah suggested that the establishment of the Border Trade Management Authority should have come before the parliamentary body after approval of the CCI. “You are committing an illegal act if brought the bill here without the approval of CCI,” he said.

Zartaj Gul questioned how the new authority would improve operations at borders such as Torkham, Chaman, and Wagah, where forces are already present. She questioned how an authority could be established at three borders without prior permission from the provinces. Additionally, she asked why the establishment of the Land Port Authority was not being taken to the CCI.

The chairman of the committee then decided to defer the agenda until the next meeting.

The committee passed the government the bill, “Naturalization (Amendment) Bill 2024” as well as the “Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2024” moved by MNA Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar.

The meeting was also attended by MNAs Malik Shakir Bashir Awan, Syed Nosheen Iftikhar, Nisar Ahmed, Sahibzada Muhammad Hamid Raza, Jamshaid Ahmad, Khawaja Izharul Hassan, Nawabzada Mir Jamal Khan Raisani, and senior official of the Ministry of Interior.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025