ECP notifies five senators-elect, including ‘dual nationals’
Apex court had stopped notifications from being issued after matter of dual nationality of Senators-elect came to light
March 10, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Following the Supreme Court's order, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued on Saturday notifications for four Senators-elect whose notifications were stopped on account of their possible dual-nationalities.
The ECP also notified Kohda Babar, an independent candidate from Balochistan.
During the hearing of a suo motu case pertaining to the dual nationality of lawmakers, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar formed a seven-member larger bench and order issuance of notifications of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Chaudhry Sarwar and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Haroon Akhtar, Saadya Abbasi and Nuzhat Sadiq.
Earlier, when the chief justice resumed hearing of the case at the Lahore Registry, PTI's Sarwar told the court that he renounced his British nationality in 2013.
The chief justice queried whether he gave up his British nationality for good, or temporarily, to which Sarwar’s counsel said that under British law, nationality can be restored.
To this, Justice Nisar observed that it appeared Sarwar temporarily renounced his British nationality just so that he could “become a governor and after enjoying the mandates, could restore his [British] nationality.”
The chief justice remarked that Sarwar must give an undertaking that he would never restore his British nationality.
If you restore your British nationality, then this would call for a disqualification, Justice Nisar observed.
The chief justice observed earlier this week that the apex court will rule on the dual nationality of senators before the election of the Senate chairman on March 12.
Also earlier this week, the Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to halt the notification announcing the victory of four individuals in Senate elections for possessing dual nationalities. Following the order, the ECP withheld notifications of PTI’s Chaudhry Sarwar, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Haroon Akhtar, Saadya Abbasi and Nuzhat Sadiq.
