ISLAMABAD – Thousands of overseas Pakistanis who had to forfeit their Pakistani nationality while acquiring nationality of any other country would soon be able to reclaim Pakistani nationality.
A bill in this regard named Citizenship Amendment Bill has been approved by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior, it emerged on Wednesday.
The approval of the bill marks a significant step towards allowing overseas Pakistanis to reclaim their Pakistani nationality who were compelled to renounce their citizenship after acquiring nationalities in countries without dual nationality agreements.
Officials from the Ministry of Law told the National Assembly’s committee that the amendment is designed to restore citizenship to those who had to forfeit it due to legal limitations.
During the committee meeting, a representative from the Directorate General of Passports explained that Pakistan previously lacked dual nationality agreements with 22 countries but agreements have now been signed with these nations, meaning citizens will no longer be required to renounce their Pakistani nationality upon naturalising abroad.
‘We have no objection to this bill. Pakistani citizens abroad should not be forced to choose between their homeland and their new homes,’ Committee Chairman Khurram Nawaz said during the meeting.
The amendment will now proceed through the legislative process and would require approval of the parliament to allow overseas Pakistanis to reclaim the nationality.
An interesting aspect about the overall amendment is that Pakistan’s incumbent Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb had to renounce his Dutch nationality before reclaiming Pakistan’s nationality and becoming a member of the parliament.
The finance minister had acquired Dutch nationality years ago while forfeiting Pakistani nationality. The federal cabinet had approved grant of Pakistani nationality to Muhammad Aurangzeb after which he was made member of the cabinet. If the bill is passed and approved, all such Pakistanis would not have to forfeit Pakistani nationality while acquiring nationality of other countries.
