Peshawar   -   The Peshawar High Court (PHC) ruled on Saturday to allow Pakistani women married to Afghan nationals to maintain dual nationality or CNICs alongside Afghan Citizen Cards/Proof of Registration Cards.

The court directed the federal government to issue Pakistan Origin Cards (POCs) to these families after completing all legal requirements.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Arshad Ali and Justice Wiqar Ahmad delivered a detailed 62-page judgment on the dual nationality case, with Justice Waqar Ahmad authoring the ruling.

The PHC upheld the writ petitions of 95 families seeking issuance of Pakistan Origin Cards, who had inadvertently acquired Afghan Refugee Cards. It was revealed during proceedings that due to difficulties in obtaining Pakistani identity cards, many families obtained Afghan refugee cards to facilitate migration to Europe or other countries for asylum.

The verdict specified that Pakistani women are entitled to maintain dual citizenship, and their children have the right to dual citizenship until the age of 21. The court declared that possessing Afghan Citizenship Cards cannot be grounds for denying or refusing issuance of Pakistani CNICs.

The judgment also affirmed that children under 21 born to a Pakistani parent can hold both Afghan and Pakistani citizenships, and thereafter choose one. It condemned any denial of CNICs, passports, or blocking of documents for these individuals as unconstitutional.

The court was informed about instances where marriages between Pakistani and Afghan nationals faced dissolution due to citizenship issues, highlighting the urgent need for legal clarity and fairness in such cases.

Representing the petitioners, Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel and Nauman Muhib Kakakhel argued that amendments in the Pakistan Citizenship Act of 2000 allowed children born to Pakistani parents to automatically acquire Pakistani citizenship, addressing prior gender discrimination in the laws.