A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court against Prime Minister Imran Khan’s unelected advisers and special assistants.
In his petition, advocate Nadeem Sarwar said Adviser on Finance to the PM Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is not an MNA nor a senator yet he is heading the Ministry of Finance. “According to Article 92 of the Constitution, only an MNA can perform duties of a federal minister on the prime minister’s recommendation,” said Sarwar. He added that the Article 2(A) states that a non-elected person cannot use the State’s powers and remarked that an adviser who is a dual national can be a threat to the country’s security.
The petitioner wants PM Khan and his unelected cabinet members to be stopped from working until the court decides on the matter.
The advocate has made the PM, his advisers, assistants and Law Minister Farogh Naseem respondents in the case. On Sunday, the government revealed that five of its cabinet members were dual nationals while one had a green card and the other a residency.
These are Zulfi Bukhari (British citizenship), Shahzad Syed Qasim (US citizenship), Nadeem Afzal Gondal (Canadian citizenship), Shahbaz Gill (US green card), Tania Aidrus (Canadian citizenship and permanent resident of Singapore), Nadeem Babar (US citizenship) and Moeed Yusuf (US resident).
Once this news spread, opposition parties began demanding the resignation of these government officials, however, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi feels there’s no problem.“The law allows it. There’s no problem with it,” Qureshi was quoted as saying on Monday. He said this isn’t surprising since previous governments have also appointed people with foreign nationalities. “The prime minister has appointed technocrats. They are all experts of their respective fields,” he said. He added that the law bars dual nationals from becoming a senator or member of the National Assembly.
