ISLAMABAD: The government may bar senior bureaucrats from holding dual nationalities as the upper house of parliament is all set to pass a bill seeking amendments to the 1973 Civil Servants Act.
A Senate panel has unanimously approved the bill called ‘The Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2013’. Moved by Senator Ilyas Bilour of the Awami National Party, the bill has been welcomed by lawmakers and civil servants alike. Last week the bill was referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Capital Administration and Development Division for further deliberations.
“The bill seeks amendment in Section 9 of The Civil Servants Act, 1973 with a view to lay down an enabling provision so that civil servants having dual nationalities or citizenship of any foreign country shall not be entitled to promotion to the post in BSP-20 or equivalent and above,” reads the proposed draft of the bill which will be tabled in the Senate on next private members’ day.
The bill on the other hand proposes an addition to this section. It states that a civil servant holding dual nationalities or citizenship of any foreign country shall not be entitled to promotion to the post in BPS-20 or equivalent and above. Being a dual national is not a criminal offence. Pakistanis are allowed to hold dual nationalities under the Citizenship Act of 1951, whether in government services or other states.
Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Syeda Sughra Imam, who is also a member of the committee, also endorsed the bill. INTERNEWS
