‘Over 22K bureaucrats in Pak have dual nationality’

Islamabad: In a surprising development, a National Assembly (NA) panel was informed that over 22,000 bureaucrats in Pakistan possess dual nationality, raising concerns about national security.

As the NA’s standing committee on Interior met on Monday with Raja Khurram Nawaz in the chair, members sounded alarm over the practice and called for stringent measures to restrict the practice, especially for bureaucrats, judges and members of the parliamentarians, according to a newspaper.

The meeting was deliberating on the proposed legislation that would grant Pakistani passports to citizens of countries with which Islamabad has dual nationality agreements.

During the meeting, it was also revealed that 22,000 bureaucrats hold dual citizenship. Committee member Abdul Qadir Patel expressed surprise that while members of the National Assembly and judges were prohibited from holding dual citizenship, bureaucrats were not. He proposed that the Bill should include a provision to ensure that such individuals aren’t appointed bureaucrats.