Judge, civil servant: Bill submitted to bar dual nationality holders

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) lawmaker Noor Alam Khan on Thursday submitted a bill to the NA Secretariat, aimed at barring dual nationality holders from becoming judges and civil servants.

The JUI-F lawmaker took the plea that those holding dual nationality could not be made accountable if found guilty of corruption as they flee the country after their retirement.

It stated that an individual holding dual nationality or foreign citizenship should not be given the right to be appointed as a civil servant.

A copy of the bill available with Business Recorder showed that the bill seeks changes in the Civil Servants Act, 1973’s Section 5, calling it “Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2024”.

“…provided that a civil servant holding dual nationality or citizenship of any foreign country shall not be entitled for appointment,” it added.

“The government servants must have their stakes in the country in which they hold positions of authority, privilege and trust.”

Noor Alam said that the proposed amendments would “ensure the loyalty of government servants in the light of Article 5 of the Constitution”.

The development comes after MNA Noor sought a constitutional amendment to impose a complete ban on the appointment of judges in the higher judiciary, who are dual nationals.

On Tuesday, the lawmaker also submitted a Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to the NA Secretariat which has sought modifications in the Constitution’s Articles 177, 193, and 208, shutting all legal routes to the appointments of those judges, who have foreign nationalities.

The draft bill clearly stated that a dual-national individual shall not be appointed as a Supreme Court (SC) or a High Court (HC) judge.

It also sought to block the passage to the appointments of foreign nationals as judiciary officers and servants as well.

“Those who hold dual nationality of foreign states, put at stake the interest of the country of their origin,” it added.

Urging the legislature to promulgate the proposed law, the JUI-F lawmaker said there is a need to ensure the loyalty of the judges in the light of Article 5 of the Constitution, and his proposed amendments will achieve the objectives.

This is pertinent to mention that the bill has been moved at a time when the ruling government started targeting the judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for writing a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) – which is headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan – about the meddling of spy agencies in cases involving political matters.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024