Dual Citizenship: Is it really an Issue?

Dual Citizenship: Is it really an Issue?

With all the talk going around nowadays about dual citizenship, one has to wonder whether this really is an issue or not?

In Pakistan, anything that has to do with mainstream politicians being affected by court orders becomes wildly over exaggerated, with the most recent being the membership of Rehman Malik from the Senate as it was revoked.

Yes, there is a law in the Pakistani constitution about public officials not being allowed to hold office having a citizenship of another country, but does it really affect the loyalty of a person towards his country of nationality?

One thing that must be pointed out is that citizenship and nationality are two very different things, with the former being on the basis of birth place and citizenship being acquired later on. In Rehman Malik’s case, he is a national of Pakistan first and then a citizen of both Pakistan and the UK, but thinking about the issue and not the person, does it really affect how a person performs in office?

Why was this issue not raised during Shaukat Aziz’s term as Prime Minister of this country, as he too was a dual citizen with an American passport.

Will these steps not hurt the Pakistani’s living abroad, who send over $1 billion each and every month to Pakistan for the well being of their families or in various investments around the country. How do they feel knowing that all their hard work, be it another country, will be in vain if they ever desire to a public office on returning?

Is it not the same case with Imran Khan’s Tehreek-i-Insaaf, as he wishes to bring a team of foreigners to help Pakistan overcome its problems if ever elected to government?

Being a dual-citizen definitely does not have any effect on your patriotism and loyalty towards your country. Even first world countries like the United States, Canada and the UK do not have any such hurdles in their laws, but there are many members in each elected house in the countries who hold dual citizenship.

Today, especially in Canada and the UK, there are many, many Pakistani nationals that have been elected to public office and are also working for the betterment of their native country.

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Posted by Syed Hassan Bokhari on Jun 7 2012. Filed under Editorial, Latest News, Opinion, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.