ISLAMABAD: The Senate will take up the issue of judges’ dual nationality on Monday as all efforts of the government to obtain details about them from the superior judiciary have failed.
Law Minister Pervez Rasheed said three letters had been written to the Supreme Court’s registrar recently seeking names of the judges having dual nationality, but no response was received as yet.
Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq told Dawn that the government had failed to obtain details of the judges with dual nationality despite repeated requests.
It was on Mr Haq’s request that Senate chairman Nayyar Bokhari had deferred on Jan 13 putting up a resolution asking the government to publish names of the judges holding dual nationality.
Mr Haq had sought one more chance to collect the information from the judiciary. About two months back, a similar request had been made by the law minister.
The issue has been under discussion in the upper house for over a year. The previous PPP government also failed to get the required information from the superior judiciary.
Not satisfied with the answer received from the Supreme Court to the question whether any judge held dual nationality, senators from the PPP had sought a parliamentary debate on the issue in March last year which was granted by the chairman.
The house then held the debate on a motion jointly moved by PPP leaders Farhatullah Babar and Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan.
The issue had arisen out of a reply given to the question asked twice by Farhatullah Babar – first in December 2012 and then in February last year – whether there were any judges in superior courts holding dual nationality.
The then law minister, Farooq Naek, had informed the house that the Supreme Court had repeated its earlier reply that neither the Constitution nor the code of conduct prescribed for the judges prevented a dual national from becoming a judge.
The minister said that only the Federal Shariat Court had come out with a reply, saying that neither the CJ nor any judge of the court held dual nationality.
Taking exception to this reply, Mr Babar had said it was important that a categorical assurance was given that there was no judge in superior courts holding dual nationality regardless of whether the Constitution permitted it or not.
After the change of government, PPP senators again raised the issue and Mr Babar submitted a resolution, urging the government to publicise the name of the judges holding dual nationality.
During the debate, the chairman had himself asked the government to explain as to how the independence of judiciary was infringed by this information. He had also asked the members to suggest the strategy through which the information could be obtained from the judiciary.
Mr Babar’s resolution will top the Senate agenda on Monday.
PML-N’s Raja Zafarul Haq said it was up to the house to decide the future course of action. He, however, said the issue should not cause confrontation between two institutions of the country.
A bill barring judges from holding the dual nationality was moved by PPP’s Raza Rabbani and Sughra Imam. However, it has been pending before the standing committee on law and justice.