ISLAMABAD: Opposition parties have expressed serious concern over the presence of a large number of dual nationals and the “permanent residency and green card” holders in the federal cabinet and asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to sack them immediately.

Information secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and MNA Marriyum Aurangzeb in a statement on Sunday reminded the prime minister of his own remarks about the dual nationality holders when he was in the opposition and demanded that “Imran Khan ask these individuals to resign”.

While criticising the premier for giving key positions to the billionaires and dual nationals in his cabinet, a number of opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders termed it another “major U-turn” by Mr Khan and questioned the loyalties of those cabinet members who had taken the oath of allegiance to other countries.

The reaction from the opposition came a day after the Cabinet Division released the details of the assets and dual nationalities of the special assistants to the prime minister (SAPMs) and his advisers, showing that out of the 19 non-elected cabinet members, four SAPMs hold dual nationalities. They are SAPM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar (the United States), SAPM on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari (the United Kingdom), SAPM on Power Division Shahzad Qasim (the US) and SAPM on Digital Pakistan Tania S. Aidrus (Canada).

Marriyum says foreign group deciding country’s future, Nayyar asks how appointments can be declared lawful

Among those holding residency or green card of other countries are SAPM on Political Affairs Shahbaz Gill (the US), SAPM on National Security Moeed Yousuf (the US), SAPM on Parliamentary Coordination Nadeem Afzal Gondal (Canada) and Ms Aidrus (Singapore).

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz through his official social media account on Twitter stated that the directives to make the information public were issued by the premier himself.

In her statement, MNA Aurangzeb recalled that Mr Khan used to say “it is unethical and unacceptable to hold dual nationality while being a minister and making decisions of the country’s future”. Mr Khan had also declared that “if anyone possesses a passport of another country, he must not be allowed to sit in the parliament of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” she said.

Ms Aurangzeb, who had served as the information minister in the previous PML-N government, questioned as to “why Imran Khan has recruited those people in his cabinet who have no assets or stakes in Pakistan and are making decisions that affect those who have all their assets and stakes in this country.”

‘Foreign group imposed on the country’

She alleged that the people of Pakistan had been forced into the dark alley of economic desolation, unemployment and abject poverty because “a foreign group imposed on this country is deciding their present and future of generations to come”.

“These special assistants to the PM and advisers are a product and baggage of the 23 illegal accounts,” Ms Aurangzeb said in an apparent reference to the foreign funding case being heard against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Ms Aurangzeb also posted a video clip of a past speech of the prime minister expressing his views on politicians and members of parliament holding dual nationalities on her twitter account. “His hypocrisy is shameless as his duplicity is destroying a nation. All Imran Khan is missing is a flute,” she tweeted with the video clip.

Reacting to the revelations, parliamentary leader of the PPP in the Senate and party’s vice president Sherry Rehman also questioned as to how the dual nationals could sit in the federal cabinet when they even could not become a member of the parliament.

In a tweet, Ms Rehman said: “Imran Khan has repeatedly said he stands against government aides, advisers, ministers who swear an oath of allegiance to another country. What happened to #MadeinPakistan?”

Legitimacy questioned

In a statement, PPP’s secretary general Nayyar Bokhari said that in the past, the appointments of dual nationals on key posts had been declared illegal.

“Under which rule, these appointments have now become legitimate?” asked Mr Bokhari, who had also served as the chairman of the Senate.

He said there had been a discussion among public regarding the alleged involvement of some dual nationals in the recent mega scams of petrol and gas and devaluation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar. He expressed his concern over carrying out of projects involving huge finances under the supervision of the “businessmen aides” of the prime minister.

Similarly, in her separate statement, information secretary of the PPP and MNA Dr Nafisa Shah termed it a “sensitive matter”, saying that the disclosure about assets and dual nationalities of the advisers and the SAPMs had opened a “Pandora’s box”.

“The selected prime minister has been exposed after the truth about his advisers has come to light. Half of the selected prime minister’s cabinet, who himself used to make tall claims about dual nationalities, have been found to be dual nationals,” she added.

“How can those that have [pledged] their allegiance to another country be expected to be sincere with Pakistan?” she questioned.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2020