The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will hear a case pertaining to the dual citizenship of Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda on August 4. The election commission had previously summoned the federal minister on July 16 for allegedly concealing his dual nationality while filing nomination papers for General Elections 2018. The commission in its orders said if the parties to the case did not show up then a decision would be given on the information provided. “The parties should either show up in person or send their counsel on August 4,” the ECP said. The petitioners, Advocate Qadir Khan Mandokhel and others had filed a disqualification petition against Vawda for concealing his dual citizenship. Vawda had won the 2018 general election from the Karachi’s NA-249 constituency. In January this year, an investigative report published in The News had revealed that Vawda may have committed perjury by falsely declaring in an oath to the ECP that he did not hold any foreign nationality. According to The News, Vawda had a US passport at the time he filed his nomination papers on June 11, 2018. The minister remained an American national even at the time the scrutiny of his nomination papers was completed. The Supreme Court of Pakistan in a past judgment has categorically ruled that candidates who hold dual nationality are supposed to submit a renunciation certificate of the foreign nationality along with their nomination papers. The same judgment has previously led to the disqualification of various lawmakers, notable among whom PML-N senators Saadia Abbasi and Haroon Akhtar.
ECP to hear Faisal Vawda’s dual citizenship case on August 4
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will hear a case pertaining to the dual citizenship of Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda on August 4. The election commission had previously summoned the federal minister on July 16 for allegedly concealing his dual nationality while filing nomination papers for General Elections 2018. The commission in […]
