Pakistani nationality law

The Pakistani nationality law governs citizenship of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The principal legislation determining nationality, the Pakistan Citizenship Act, was passed by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 13 April 1951. Since Cambodia changed its laws, Pakistan is the only country in Asia with unconditional jus soli citizenship rights.[1]

Citizenship

Before the creation of Pakistan, its territories were part of the British Indian Empire (which included modern-day India, Bangladesh and Burma) and its people were British subjects. Pakistan was founded on 14 August 1947 as a state for Muslims and held the status of a Dominion in the British Commonwealth; it included modern-day Bangladesh, which was known as East Bengal and East Pakistan and became independent from Pakistan in 1971. Upon independence from British colonial rule, several millions of Muslims emigrated to Pakistan from India, and several millions of Hindus and Sikhs who had been residing in what became Pakistan emigrated to India, raising a number of citizenship issues.

Pakistani Citizenship Act 1951

The Pakistan Citizenship Act of 1951 was enacted on 13 April 1951; stating the purpose of it is "to make provision for citizenship of Pakistan".[1] The Act has been amended several times, the last occurring in 2000.[2] The Act is divided into 23 sections, each one outlining a different provision of citizenship, of which the most significant are:

Relevant provision Description
s. 3 Citizenship at the date of commencement of this Act At the commencement of this Act every person shall be deemed to be a citizen of Pakistan:
  • People whose parents or grandparents were born in what is now considered Pakistan (after 14 August 1947).
  • People whose parents or grandparents were born in the territory known as India on 31 March 1937
OR
  • People who were naturalized as a British subject in Pakistan
  • People who migrated to the territory of Pakistan before this Act
s. 4 Citizenship by birth Anyone born in Pakistan after this Act is a Pakistani Citizen (Except if the father is considered an enemy of the state or the father has immunity from legal process)
s. 5 Citizenship by descent If one parent has Pakistani Citizenship then a person born to that parent may also get citizenship.
s. 6 Citizenship by Migration If a person migrates from Indian territory before 1 January 1952, with the intention of permanently residing then they may receive citizenship. If he is a man, his wife and children may get Pakistani citizenship as well.
s. 7 Person migrating from the territories of Pakistan Notwithstanding anything in sections 3, 4 and 6, a person who has migrated from the territories now included in Pakistan, after 1 March 1947, to the territories now included in India shall not be a citizen of Pakistan under the provision of these sections with an exception for the person who has returned with a permission of resettlement under the authority of law.
s. 14 Dual Citizenship or nationality not permitted If you hold a citizenship outside of Pakistan the Pakistani citizenship is terminated
  • Unless one decides to renounce the other
  • Unless one has citizenship in Britain or its colonies
  • Unless one is a female married to a man who is not a Pakistani citizen
s. 14A Renunciation of citizenship If a person pledges allegiance or becomes a citizen of another country they have forfeited their Pakistani citizenship
  • The exception is if a child (under the age of 21) who does not have his Pakistani citizenship and would like to resume it after turning 21 is allowed to do so.
s. 14B Subjects of the State of Jammu and Kashmir Those persons who have migrated to Pakistan with the intention of residing therein until such time as the relationship between Pakistan and that State is finally determined, shall, without prejudice to his status as such subject, be a citizen of Pakistan.
s. 16 Deprivation of Citizenship One may be deprived or stripped of citizenship if:
  • Citizenship was obtained by false information
  • The person in question has acted disloyal to the country
  • One has been engaging with the enemy during times of war
s. 16A Certain Persons to lose and others to retain citizenship Regarding the times before and after 16 December 1971 and people residing in what was previously East Pakistan
  • One is no longer a citizen if he/she is voluntarily residing in or migrated to the area now known as Bangladesh on 16 December 1971
  • One is still a citizen if he/she voluntarily stayed or moved to West Pakistan on 16 December 1971

Dual nationality

Since independence, the growth of expatriate Pakistani communities in the Middle East, Europe and North America has led to several changes in Pakistani nationality law. Dual citizenship is allowed in certain specified circumstances:[1]

  • where the citizen who is acquiring the second nationality is under the age of 21
  • where the citizen is also a British citizen
  • where citizens have acquired United States or Swedish nationality[3]

Pakistanis with dual citizenship are forbidden to run for public office,[4][5] sit in the assemblies, contest elections or join the Pakistani military.[6] On 20 September 2012, the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified eleven lawmakers including Interior Minister Rehman Malik for failing to disclose their dual nationalities upon taking office.[7] The proposed 21st amendment to the Pakistani constitution would have allowed dual citizens to hold public office and contest elections, but the amendment never passed.[8] On 16 December 2013, The Senate of Pakistan unanimously passed "The Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2013", aimed at barring the civil servants of BPS-20 and above to hold a dual nationality, the bill will then be debated in the Lower House having passed from there it would then be implemented as an Act after the President of Pakistan signs it.[9]

Controversial issues

Both Pakistan and India law claim to the disputed region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of numerous wars between the two countries. The Pakistani Citizenship Act of 1951 allowed persons who were subjects of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to travel under a Pakistani passport and be considered a citizen of Pakistan without prejudice.[1]

The independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971 led to the abandonment in the Bengali-majority state of around half a million "stranded Pakistanis", who traced their ethno-linguistic heritage to the Bihar region. Despite official promises, Bangladesh has not accepted them nor does it recognise them as citizens. Conversely, a continuous migration of Bangladeshis between 1971 and 1995 led their population to cross the 1.6 million mark which was only 10,000 at the time of separation. These migrants are mostly illegal and are not given the citizenship as they migrated after the separation.

For political and other reasons, the 1.5 million[10] registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan are not given Pakistani nationality, most of whom were born inside Pakistan.[11]

Travel freedom

Visa requirements for Pakistani citizens

In 2016, Pakistani citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 29 countries and territories, ranking the Pakistani passport 103rd in the world according to the Visa Restrictions Index.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, Act No. II of 1951. Retrieved on 2 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Chapter 14: registration and naturalisation under legislation other than the British Nationality Act 1981 (Annex J: Pakistani Citizenship Law)" (PDF). gov.uk. UK Visas and Immigration. 29 November 2013.
  3. ↑ http://embassyofpakistanusa.org/dual.php
  4. ↑ http://tribune.com.pk/story/521869/in-defence-of-dual-nationals/
  5. ↑ http://www.ecp.gov.pk/ViewPressReleaseNotific.aspx?ID=1451&TypeID=0
  6. ↑ http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?newsid=203883&catname=1
  7. ↑ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-20/pakistan/33976062_1_dual-nationality-rehman-malik-farahnaz-ispahani
  8. ↑ http://www.biyokulule.com/view_content.php?articleid=4950
  9. ↑ http://tribune.com.pk/story/646546/civil-servants-amendment-bill-senate-bill-seeks-to-place-bar-on-dual-national-bureaucrats/
  10. ↑ Official website of the UNHCR country operations profile – Pakistan
  11. ↑ "PAKISTAN: Tolerance wanes as perceptions of Afghan refugees change". Irin. February 27, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
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