Interior ministry directed to decide plea seeking citizenship for Afghan man

• Justice Abdul Shakoor, Justice Syed Arshad Ali issue written decision.
• Application says woman is Pakistani citizen, who married Afghan resident.
• Court requested to issue orders to Ministry of Interior, Nadra authorities.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has directed the Ministry of Interior to immediately resolve the issue of a Pakistan woman, who had sought citizenship for her Afghan husband, according to the law, The News reported on Sunday.

Justice Abdul Shakoor and Justice Syed Arshad Ali issued a written decision on the case of the petitioner’s wife, Zeenat Begum.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel, Assistant Attorney General Malik Daniyal Khan and National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) law officer Shahid Imran Gigyani also appeared in the court. The application said the woman was a Pakistani citizen, who had married an Afghan resident, Muhammad Tahir. She approached the relevant institutions for Pakistani citizenship and national identity card for her husband, but she was denied what she claimed was her right. Then she filed a writ in the high court.

The court was requested to issue orders to the Ministry of Interior and Nadra authorities to grant citizenship to the Afghan husband of the applicant. On the other hand, the government officials took the stand in the court that the petitioner was not entitled to an identity card unless he was issued a citizenship certificate under Section 10(2) of the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, for which the petitioner will first apply to the Ministry of Interior.

The court declared that the applicant had not fulfilled the legal requirements to obtain citizenship, for which he had to first approach the Ministry of Interior for the citizenship certificate but he approached the court directly. According to the decision, the applicant should approach the Ministry of Interior first, while the ministry should deal with the case as soon as possible if the applicant has applied for a citizenship card. The national ID card will be issued to him only after the citizenship certificate. The court then disposed of the petition.