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FIA hands over list of 122 dual nationality candidates to ECP

By Our Correspondent
June 19, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has handed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) a list of 122 nomination papers of candidates having dual nationality. The list includes several prominent names, including the PPP's former Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Faisal Vawda and the Pak Sarzameen Party leader Fauzia Kasuri who’d recently quit the PTI.

In a statement, Murad Ali Shah clarified that he had renounced his foreign nationality long ago. Vawda and Kasuri are US nationals while Shah is mentioned as a Canadian national. "The list of 122 candidates, having dual nationality leaves a question mark on the ability of political parties and their respective election commission systems to ensure none gets a party ticket with dual nationality. Respective parties must also take action against dual nationals for dodging them and if they took the leadership into confidence, then the leadership should also be blamed for this mess," an electoral expert maintained while talking to The News.

There are a few double entries in the list, as the FIA has considered nomination papers filed for different seats separately even if they have been filed by the same person. A total of 49 dual national holders have filed nomination papers for the National Assembly seats, 53 for the Punjab Assembly, 11 for Sindh Assembly, eight for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and one for the Balochistan Assembly.

The data was collected from the FIA's Integrated Border Management System, which records travelers data of all incoming and outgoing passengers traveling across the Pakistani borders. "This database was utilised to identify the foreign travel document presented by the traveler at immigration counter while embarking/disembarking on the journey," the FIA report says.

The FIA received a total of 19,880 records from the Election Commission, which it checked through its system to find out 122 individuals, who had traveled on foreign passports.

Out of the total, 60 were found to be UK nationals, 26 American nationals, 24 Canadian passport holders, three Irish, two from Belgium and one each who held passports issued by Singapore, Australia, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Spain and even Uzbekistan.

The FIA said the identification of people was limited by the data it had in its repository. It also stated that "contesting candidates who had traveled on a foreign travel document as per our record but had initiated renunciation process to surrender their foreign nationality had been treated as foreign travel document holder".

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has formed 20 appellate tribunals for disposing of appeals against rejection or acceptance of nomination papers for the upcoming elections. The commission constituted 20 tribunals comprising High Court judges.

According to the notification, eight tribunals have been set up for the Punjab, six for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four for Sindh and two for Balochistan. The candidates can file their appeals against decisions of returning officers till June 22, while appeals will be decided by appellate tribunals by June 27.

The revised list of candidates will be published by June 28. The Election Commission will complete the process of scrutiny of nomination papers filed by candidates on Tuesday (today) and no proposal for extension of date for scrutiny, according to the commission’s spokesperson, was under consideration.