Dual nationality: SC suspends PML-N MNA's membership

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) heard the dual nationality case on Tuesday and suspended Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Malik Jamil Awan’s National Assembly (NA) membership, Geo News reported Tuesday.

Malik Jamil Awan was elected an MNA from NA-107, Gujrat constituency.

According to sources, Awan’s NA membership was suspended due to his Dutch citizenship.

Later the court adjourned the hearing till Wednesday and hinted to complete the hearing the same day.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard a petition seeking disqualification of parliamentarians holding dual nationality. One Mahmood Akhtar Naqvi had filed a petition in the court, requesting to direct the ECP to obtain the complete record of parliamentarians who held dual nationalities. He further pleaded that the court disqualify such parliamentarians and restrain them from contesting the next general elections.

Earlier, the SC had suspended the National Assembly membership of PPP’s Zahid Iqbal and also re-issued notices to other parliamentarians for holding dual nationality.

It is pertinent to mention here that the court had already suspended the membership of Farahnaz Ispahani, MNA, spouse of Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States and Rehman Malik, former interior minister, for holding dual nationalities.

Similarly, the court on June 13, had also suspended the membership of Muhammad Ikhlaq and Amna Butter, MPAs of the Punjab Assembly, and Dr Ahmed Ali, MPA, Sindh Assembly, after they admitted to holding American and British citizenships respectively.