Updated on
Summary More that 200 lawmakers, including Prime Minister, failed to submit affidavits on dual nationality.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had set November 9 (Friday) as the last date for the submission of affidavits on the directive of the Supreme Court after a large number of lawmakers were disqualified for holding dual citizenships, disallowed under the Constitution.Prime Minister Raja Pervez Asharf and over 200 lawmakers failed to submit affidavits as the dateline expired.The fate of over 200 Pakistani lawmakers hangs in the balance as the Election Commission decides on their future on Monday, following their failure to submit declarations affirming they do not hold dual nationality.The ECP has called a session on Nov 12 to decide on the issue of legislators who had not submitted their declarations by Friday – the commission’s deadline for filing the affidavits.Chief Election Commission Fakhruddin G Ebrahim said the ECP is firm on acting against dual national legislators following the Supreme Court’s clear orders.Pakistan’s apex court, disqualifying 11 legislators on Sept 20 for holding dual nationalities, had directed the ECP to obtain fresh declarations on oath from all legislators to examine their cases individually.A senior ECP official said the commission had made it clear that those failing to submit fresh declarations would be presumed to be possessing dual nationality, which would ultimately lead to their disqualification.The official had earlier said that as many as 331 lawmakers, including the prime minister and some of his cabinet colleagues, had not submitted their affidavits by Wednesday. He said that some lawmakers who had proceeded on Haj might get some more time to submit fresh declarations.Another source in the Election Commission said Friday that up to 212 lawmakers were yet to file their declarations.According to the source, the lawmakers include 75 from the National Assembly, 29 from the Senate, 76 from Sindh Assembly, 24 from Punjab Assembly, 7 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and one legislator from the Balochistan Assembly.
