Dual nationals appeal to CJP for their rights

LONDON: Overseas Pakistanis have appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to protect their rights as he is in a privileged position to take measures which can guarantee the safety of their rights as well clarity on how the constitution of Pakistan stand in regard to more than 8 million overseas Pakistanis.
At the Jang Forum London, more than 80 prominent Pakistani community leaders and legal experts gathered to discuss the rights of dual nationals and the anxiety that exists amongst Pakistanis overseas about their rights. The participants, who included former parliamentarians and activists belonging to Pakistani political parties and welfare organisations, said that the recent order of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to facilitate votes of overseas Pakistanis were very encouraging as Pakistanis abroad wanted to be part of change in Pakistan through democratic means.
The participants said that some people were wrongly interpreting the CJP’s remarks on dual nationality holders during the hearing of Dr Tahirul Qadri’s petition for the reconstruction of Election Commission of Pakistan. The participants blamed that some political parties were playing politics over the issue of dual nations and urged them to stop making it a political issue. While many participants said that it was understood that Pakistani representative must live and work in Pakistan full time, they said there was need of a mechanism in Pakistan’s system where overseas Pakistani communities could get representation. The number of overseas Pakistanis is increasing everyday as more and more people are leaving Pakistan to work in Middle Eastern and European countries and the need for clarity on their rights is more urgent than ever before.
Overseas Pakistanis face a number of problems back home and the nature of their problems warrants special attention now as the criminal syndicates targeting them have become more professional.
Community representative told Jang Forum that their loyalty to Pakistan was beyond any doubt and it was part of Pakistan’s history that they have stood by Pakistan through thick and thin, whether it was Qarz Utari Mulk Sanwaro campaign or raising funds to help Pakistan during floods and other natural calamities.
The participants said that overseas Pakistanis should be given equal rights, just like any Pakistani citizen and if any other definition is created then it will mean that overseas Pakistanis will feel disfranchised in the long run. About recent reports, the participants said they understood that various interpretations had been offered of the remarks made by the CJP but they said that overseas Pakistanis stood by its judiciary as it was making decisions in larger public interest and was ensuring that democratic, hard-won freedoms are protected. In the same vein, they hoped that the Supreme Court of Pakistan will stand for the rights of overseas Pakistanis. They made it clear that a few individuals, who have been affected by the legislation and ruling with reference to dual nationals, cannot claim to speak on behalf of Pakistanis abroad as they had different sort of issues at their hand. They said that crooked Pakistanis who had contributed to corruption in Pakistan had no right to play politics in the name of overseas Pakistanis.
They appealed to the chief justice to expunge remarks on dual nationals from the court proceedings. Expressing their views, the speakers said that an impression has been created as if overseas Pakistanis are disloyal to Pakistan and are lesser Pakistanis.
If these remarks are expunged, they said, then these remarks will not be used in the future as reference. A team of British Pakistani lawyers is consulting their counterparts in Pakistan to table this matter before the esteemed judges for their consideration.