ISLAMABAD -  Three senior government officials have declared their dual nationality as the Supreme Court had directed the Establishment Division to get details of the bureaucrats having dual citizenship.

According to the documents available with The Nation, three senior government officials, including a grade-22 officer Rabiya Javeri Agha, Secretary Ministry Human Rights, Samaira Nazir, a senior officer of the Federal Board of Revenue and Iftikhar Arif, Director General National Language Promotion Department have declared their dual nationality.

Rabiya Javeri Agha and Iftikhar Arif wrote in proforma that they have the nationality of the United Kingdom while Samaira Nazir declared that she had taken the nationality of New Zealand in 2007.

Samira Nazir has written in her proforma: “It is necessary to highlight that I got married in 2003 to a Pakistan residing in New Zealand since 1976 who is also a New Zealand national. By virtue of this matrimony, I got New Zealand’s nationality in 2007 as a natural process”.  Unfortunately, she said, the marriage did not survive and she returned to Pakistan in 2008 and then she never looked back or visited New Zealand.

I am a professional civil servant highly committed to my original national obligations. I had declared about my dual nationality to my parent department (Federal Board of Revenue, FBR). It is requested that on the direction of the Supreme Court, the Establishment Division in the third week of last month issued a notification seeking details of bureaucrats having dual nationality till 31-01-2018, she added.  

According to the notification: “The honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan vide Order dated 17-01-2018 passed in C.P No.3339&3340 of 20126 has directed to provide complete information as how many civil servants working in BS-17 and above in the federal as well provincial governments have dual nationality”.

It further said that it is requested the subject information in respect of all the civil servants excluding the officers of Pakistan Administrative Service, Secretariat Group, Police Service of Pakistan and Officer Management Group may kindly be provided to this Division, including name of officer and his/her dependent (s), status of dual nationality (name of country) and date of application.

The Establishment Division also said that all required information should reach this Division latest by 31-01-2018.

The Supreme Court has also directed the Establishment Division to present the details of bureaucrats having dual nationality before the apex court till February 12, 2018.  

Talking to The Nation, an official of the Establishment Division said around 150 officers of the Secretariat group of grade 20 to 22 have submitted their details to relevant section of the Establishment Division.

Similarly, the officers of Pakistan Administrative Service has also started sharing their information with the ED but no officer of the Police Service of Pakistan submitted details to related section so far.     

He said that many bureaucrats have dual nationality but they avoided to provide their details to the Establishment Division.