Islamabad, Pakistan many of the lawmakers, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, recently came under fire for holding dual nationality. Now, doctors, gardeners, peons and sanitary workers have been asked to submit a declaration that they are not citizens of two nations.
According to a circular, The Punjab province administration asked to all government officials, including doctors, gardeners, peons and sanitary workers to submit a declaration certificate.
Though no reason was been cited in the circular, the daily said the move was meant to discourage officials from acquiring dual nationality.
Legal experts said that there was no logic to check the nationality of lower-grade workers like gardeners and sanitary workers.
Sajid Ilyas Bhatti, president of the Rawalpindi Bar Association said that “Only Pakistani nationals should be appointed in public service and it will stop those officers who have dual nationality. But checking peons’ and gardeners’ dual nationality is a strange move,” “If a lower-grade government staff had dual nationality then he will have no reason to work in the country for a few rupees. So, the government should revise its notification to release the lower staff and apprehend politicians and bureaucrats,”
In September, Election Commission of Pakistan has been asked by the Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to obtain fresh declarations from lawmakers regarding their dual nationality.
The Young Doctors Association Punjab condemned the “futile exercise” of checking the dual nationality of doctors and health staff, terming it was waste of time.
He was unaware of the circular issued by the government, and even if such a circular was issued, it was just “a matter of routine” said by a Punjab government spokesman.
