KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday directed the provincial authorities to file their respective comments on a constitutional petition challenging an amendment to the Sindh Local Government Act that allows dual nationals to contest the local bodies elections.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, also issued a notice to the provincial government law officer and put off the hearing to a date to be later pronounced by the court office.

The petition was filed by a practising lawyer, Advocate Zulfiqar Ali Domki, who impleaded the chief secretary and secretaries of the local government and law departments as respondents.

The petitioner submitted that the Sindh Assembly on Aug 11 passed the Sindh Local Government (Third Amendment) Bill, 2015, whereby clause (c) of sub-section 1 of Section 36 was omitted. The clause describes in detail some 11 conditions for the disqualification of a candidate from contesting the local government election.

He said the amendment allowed citizens with dual nationality to contest the upcoming local government elections.

Advocate Domki said the omitted clause stated: “He ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan; or acquires the citizenship of a foreign state” as one of the conditions on the basis of which a prospective candidate could be disqualified or disbarred from contesting the local bodies election.

He submitted that Article 63 (1) of the Constitution clearly states that a person shall be ‘disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), if he ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan, or acquires the citizenship of a foreign state’. “This clearly means that a person acquiring the citizenship of a foreign state cannot be either elected or chosen or continue to remain as a parliamentarian if he acquires the citizenship of a foreign state,” he added.

The petitioner said that dual nationality implied divided loyalties and thus those individuals who adopted nationalities other than Pakistani should not be allowed to contest the elections and represent the people of Pakistan.

He said the amendment was made with malafide intent and was not sustainable in law. “Actually the amendment was made to accommodate near and dear ones of ministers, MNAs and MPAs of the ruling party who are dual nationality holders,” he added.

He pleaded to the court to declare that the amendment was illegal, malafide, void ab initio, unconstitutional and of no legal effect.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2015

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