PESHAWAR, Dec 4: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday admitted to full hearing a petition filed by the Afghan husband of a Pakistani woman for securing the country’s citizenship.

Justice Mian Fasiul Mulk and Justice Shahjehan Khan Akhunzada also issued notices to the respondents, including the interior secretary and the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) chairman, for filing comments on the petition.

The bench admitted the petition to the hearing, observing that the points raised in it needed consideration.

The petitioner, Abdul Haq, said he was born in 1979 and migrated to Pakistan in 1986 along with his parents and had been living in the country since.

He said he had married Pakistani woman, Basmeena, in Rustam village of Mardan district in 2001 and had three children.

The petitioner claimed that he had applied to the Interior Ministry and Nadra initially for a Pakistan Origin Card (POC) and later for the country’s citizenship, but his requests were turned down.

Siddique Qureshi, lawyer for the petitioner, said Federal Shariat Court had taken a suo motu notice of the denial of citizenship to alien husband of Pakistani woman and had declared in 2007 that Section 10 (2) of the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, was discriminatory.

He added that the same court had asked the federal government to amend it within six months so that a woman’s foreigner husband could get Pakistani citizenship like foreign woman married to a Pakistani was entitled to citizenship.

The lawyer said the federal government had not filed any appeal against the said judgment of the Federal Shariat Court. He added that under Article 203 (3) (b) of the Constitution, a law or its provisions ceased to have effect from the day they’re declared unconstitutional or unlawful.

He said in accordance with the Constitution, the controversial section of the Citizenship now ceased to exist and the petitioner was entitled to citizenship.

Mr Qureshi said under Nadra Ordinance, 2000, and subsequent rules framed under it, Nadra was empowered to issue POC to the petitioner but it did not fulfill its legal obligation. He further said the Interior Ministry had also erred while not giving citizenship to the petitioner.

He prayed the court to declare the acts of the interior secretary and the Nadra chairman as illegal, unconstitutional, biased and highly discriminatory.

The lawyer also prayer that until the award of citizenship to the petitioner, Nadra might be directed to issue POC to him so that he could continue to live in Pakistan.