Dr Jafri appeals PM to lift curb on dual nationality

Islamabad: Eminent political thinker and human rights activist Dr. Maqsood Jafri has appealed to Prime Minister of Pakistan Mohammad Nawaz Sharif to get the bill passed about the participation of the Pakistanis in elections who have dual nationality.

According to a press release he said that in the Constitution of Pakistan, people holding dual nationality cannot run for public office by participating in the elections of National Assembly, Provincial Assembly and Senate.

Dr. Maqsood Jafri said that it is a discriminatory law and need to be renounced. The inhabitants of overseas send foreign exchange and are the pillars of the edifice of Pakistan economy. They are being ignored for their innate legal rights.

Dr. Jafri further said that Overseas Pakistanis should be given the right to give vote and take vote. If they are not given the right to run for public offices, then they may not like to give the votes to any candidate.

Similarly we see some Pakistanis have contested in the elections of England and Canada and have become members of the parliament and even are ministers. To deny the right of running for a political office in Pakistan to the person with dual nationality is tantamount to create denial of his patriotic and national spirit and that is not in the favour of Pakistan, he said.