The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, chaired by Senator Rana Mahmood ul Hassan, convened on Friday  to discuss “The Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill,2024”.  Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan, bill’s mover, stated that the civil servants take an oath of faithfulness and loyalty to the State of Pakistan, and therefore it is impossible for any individual/civil servant to be loyal to two countries.  Senator Saadia Abbasi argued that in Countries like UK and USA, the citizens can possess dual nationality.

Surprisingly, In the USA, except for the office of President, a dual National can hold any Public Office, she added.  She stated that the Government of Pakistan should devise a policy concerning dual nationality, streamlining the bars and requisites for the dual nationality. Senator Saadia Abbasi and other members maintained that the bar of dual nationality should apply to all civil servants and there shouldn’t be any exceptions, and if any, it should be for everyone.

 Secretary Cabinet Division, Kamran Ali Afzal, informed that the matter was discussed in ‘Secretaries Committee’ and there are no aversions on the dual nationality. He argued that it is intuitively difficult for any individual to be loyal to two countries. The Committee decided to discuss the Secretaries Committee report in the next meeting for the resolution of the matter.  Furthermore, the Committee ratified the nomination of Senator Shahadat Awan as Member of the Board of Governors the Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)