The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered placing Pakistan Telecommunication Authority head Mohammad Yasin on the exit control. PAC Chairman explained this as a measure to stop him from fleeing to Australia, where he is  a national as well. If Yasin is not allowed to travel for a significant length of time, I am sanguine the Australian government may complain that human rights of its national were being violated in Pakistan. Yasin, who was appointed by this very government, is alleged to have caused huge losses to the Pakistani exchequer. The same ruling party wants to move a constitutional amendment that dual nationals be allowed to contest parliamentary elections.
According to the Constitution, a person who qualifies to be a member of the Parliament, can also become the President of Pakistan. When Buland Akhtar Rana, also a dual national, was appointed Auditor General of Pakistan last year, I learnt to my dismay that there was no bar on government servants about holding dual nationality. Our lawmakers should have taken notice of this lacuna and amended the rules immediately. Their priorities, however, appear completely lopsided. They want to open the doors of the Parliament and by implication top political offices to the Pakistanis holding dual nationalities. But has the government studied the implications of this measure in some detail?
In the recent Memo case both Mansoor Ejaz and Hussain Haqqani refused to come to Pakistan on one pretext or the other. If tomorrow a Prime Minister of Pakistan, who for the sake of argument is a dual national, goes on a visit abroad and refuses to return to Pakistan for fear of accountability or pending court cases, what would Islamabad do?
The Election Commission of Pakistan is a body entrusted with scrutiny of election candidates’ credentials. During the last elections in 2008, the Election Commission had failed to detect the fake degrees of some of the candidates. This issue had to be later addressed by the courts. With this level of capacity will this body be able to properly screen all the candidates from around the globe?
The conflict of interest is a very valid argument for those who oppose this proposed constitutional amendment. I vividly recall that in the second Benazir government Dr. Faruk Rana, a talented Foreign Service officer, was appointed as High Commissioner of Pakistan to Canada. The request for his arraignment was returned by the Canadian authorities with an observation that he had already applied for the Canadian citizenship. Now according to the Pakistani rules, Dr. Rana had committed no crime. However, the Canadian authorities were hinting at the obvious contradiction and possible conflict of interest. Finally Dr. Rana had to give in writing to the Canadian authorities that his citizenship application may be deferred till his stay in Ottawa as the High Commissioner of Pakistan.
I reckon that total number of Pakistanis abroad is in the vicinity of ten million. At least half of them are living in the Middle East. The GCC countries account for the bulk of our foreign remittances. Now all GCC nations abhor political activity by the expatriate workers. The country dear to us all, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, would not approve of two million Pakistanis being chased by various political parties for votes. Having served in Saudi Arabia, I can foresee the problems to be faced in organising polling stations in major Saudi cities or even distributing and getting marked ballot papers by post. So realistically the Gulf voters will have to come to Pakistan to cast votes. But even then, any possible electioneering could result in some deportations, particularly of those party workers who may tend to be over zealous. With the bulk of Pakistanis abroad virtually disfranchised, the argument that the constitutional amendment is being done in recognition of their importance becomes self serving.
Incidentally, those Pakistanis who have become nationals of the GCC countries can neither stand for Pakistani elections nor cast votes as those countries do not allow dual nationality. One Middle East nation that has been very liberal to its own dual nationals is Lebanon. Lebanese started migrating to the Western countries early last century. All Lebanese living abroad are considered resident in their native country as well. This measure was taken to show that Christians are still in majority in Lebanon. But this has also led to incessant extraneous influence in that country. No wonder, Lebanon is one of the more unstable countries in the region and hub of international intrigues.
Pakistan already has its fair share of fault lines and divisive factors. We have problematic civil-military relations, centre-provincial issues, sectarian problem and the phantom of fundamentalism, to name a few. If we allow those living in Toronto or London to become our representatives in the Parliament or our ministers, we would be adding to our problems. Our leaders should not be those with divided loyalties. We have imported Prime Ministers in the past. Can a minister, with bulk of his property abroad, focus on his job in Pakistan?
All Pakistanis abroad should have the right to vote in Pakistani elections provided they keep links with the mother country through property or visits or remittances. The Election Commission should frame rules in this regard. This would provide an incentive to remit money back home or pay a visit. We must respect local rules in the GCC countries and discourage Pakistan related political activities there.
Dual nationals of Pakistani origin who want to become parliamentarians or ministers in the mother country must renounce their other nationality, as is the case in India. They are most welcome to come and serve Pakistan, but on a one way ticket. Our leadership must be hundred percent Pakistani. It is also necessary to frame a law that dual nationals cannot join bureaucracy, civil or military. In case officials acquire it during service, they must put in their resignation.
The constitutional bar on dual nationals about parliament membership should stay as it is stipulated in the 1973 constitution, a consensus document, that was adopted after due deliberation.

n    The writer is a former ambassador and a         freelance analyst with Arabic satellite             channels.
    Email: javedhafiz@hotmail.com