Dual nationality case: SC suspends membership of another PPP lawmaker.

The Supreme Court on Monday suspended the membership of another National Assembly lawmaker of the PPP, Zahid Iqbal, elected from NA-162 Sahiwal. The order was given by a three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry during the hearing of a case regarding dual nationality of parliamentarians, forbidden under the Constitution.
The Supreme Court also sent the suspension order to the Speaker of the National Assembly for complaince, legally binding in accordance with the Constitution. Some members of provincial assemblies, allegedly holding dual nationalities, did not turn up in the court despite being served notices, earning them the ire of the Supreme Court Chief Justice.
The court re-issued notices to members of parliament, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) MPA from Sindh Nadia Gabol, Farhat Mehmood, an MNA of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Waseem Qadir and its MPAs Nadeem Khadim and Dr Ashraf Chohan, ordering them to appear before the court on next hearing. Jameel Awan, a PML-N lawmaker also acknowledged holding Holland's nationality. However, he came up with a unique justification that he was "not a citizen" of that country, upon which Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry questioned: "How can a person be a national and not a citizen if he has the passport of a country".
Justice Jawad S Khawaja, another member of the bench remarked that people holding dual nationality should not be part of Pakistan's parliament. MPA Tariq Mehmood Allana from Punjab once again denied of holding US nationality. He submitted before the court that he had only travelled to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage but had not visited any other country, including the US. However, he sought more time for coming up with concrete evidence to refute the allegation.
Petitioner, Wahid Anjum, requested the court to collect relevant record from airport authorities and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) regarding all dual nationality holder lawmakers to determine the authenticity of their claims. The court had earlier suspended the membership of two PPP lawmakers - Rehman Malik and Farahnaz Ishphani. During Monday's proceeding, the court again directed Anwar Mansoor Khan - the counsel for Rehman Malik, to submit renunciation form and the receipt of the fee submitted to UK's Border Agency. On the request of Anwar Mansoor, the Court granted more time to Rehman Malik to submit relevant documents and adjourned the hearing till July 2.

link: http://www.brecorder.com/top-stories/0/1205867/