Prime Minister Imran Khan wants the so-called dual nationals to become a part of Pakistan’s political system, arguing that representation in the parliament will allow them to contribute more to national economy.

The federal cabinet at its very first meeting, after Khan’s return from his recent visit to the USA, revived the proposal to make overseas Pakistanis a part of the country’s political system. The proposal has been discussed several times over the last decade and shelved every time.

There is a sizeable number of Pakistani-origin people living and working abroad. These overseas Pakistanis can be classified into two groups - 1) expatriates living and working abroad as guest workers and citizens of Pakistan, and 2) Pakistani-origin citizens who have acquired citizenship of Western countries, renouncing citizenship of their country of origin.

Most of the expatriates in the first category are working in the Middle East. The remittances of Pakistanis in this category make almost 70 percent of funds sent by the expatriates. The Pakistani-origin expatriates who have surrendered their citizenship have mostly settled in Canada, Europe and the USA. It may be pointed out that on acquiring citizenship of their county of choice, such persons are required to make an oath to renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any other country, including the country of their origin.

There should be no bar on giving the right of vote to expatriates having Pakistani citizenship, but how can a country give the right of representation and berths in its legislative bodies to those who have renounced its citizenship? It may be recalled that Article 5(1) of the Constitution, under the heading ‘Loyalty to State and Obedience to Constitution and Law, asserts that "loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen." Furthermore, under Article 63(1) (c), Pakistan’s Constitution prohibits persons having "dual nationality" from contesting elections and representing the citizens in legislative bodies and holding public offices. This is reasonable. How could people not fully aware of the ground realities in a country represent the people of that country?

The words "dual nationals" seem to be a misnomer because the persons in the second category are no longer citizens of Pakistan. On May 25, 2012, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had held that "dual nationals" have no right to represent the people of Pakistan and decide the issues of national importance, being members of different committees, including defence; where all policies for the welfare of the people are discussed.

There is no bar on expatriates having only Pakistani nationality to contest election and hold public offices. Even overseas Pakistanis holding dual nationality can come to Pakistan and enjoy all rights admissible to other citizens of the country. However, they cannot become members of the parliament unless they surrender their foreign citizenship. Of course, no one can be loyal to two states, any more than one can sail on board two ships. The framers of Pakistan’s constitution were clear about this and obviously for that very reason they inserted Article 5(1) in the Constitution.

Furthermore, a majority of dual nationals have assets abroad. A vast majority of them might have acquired those assets through legitimate business activities, but in many a case they have acquired assets abroad by selling their properties in Pakistan and transferring funds from this country abroad one way or the other.

There are cases when foreign countries, in particular their special agencies, have tried to exploit the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the newly arrived families and enlisted their services to gather sensitive information/data pertaining to organisations, programmes and projects of their country of origin. If dual nationals are allowed to contest elections, occupy seats in the parliament and get elevated to sensitive positions, there is a possibility that some agencies of their newly-acquired countries might try to exploit the pliable persons amongst them to cause problem for the state.

Given its strategic geopolitical location, South Asia has become the epicentre of a great game. Some of the many participants in the game have even been involved in proxy wars in our neighbourhood or committed acts of terrorism on our soil or created ethnic and sectarian strife through their hirelings. If dual nationals are permitted to contest elections, global powers having vested interests in the region, could exploit the opportunity to field their nominees from amongst dual nationals and get them elected to powerful positions.

Many dual nationality holders support the position of their country of adoption vis-a-viz Pakistan - their country of origin. Supporting dual nationals to contest elections for public offices has the potential to destabilise Pakistan. The last thing Pakistan needs is leaders who, while accepting the citizenship of their present country of domicile, have taken the oath to "renounce all allegiance to any foreign state," including their country of origin. If confronted with a choice between the country of their origin and their new homeland, they would find it difficult to go back on their oath and pledge of citizenship.

It may be recalled that in the past, some governments did hire overseas Pakistanis residing in the West. As soon as their term expired, their passion to serve the country also dissipated.

However, the potential of overseas Pakistanis to be of service to Pakistan and contribute to its economic development and well-being of its citizens cannot be overlooked. There are many instances in the past when expatriate Pakistanis have helped the country.

I recall one here. Following nuclear tests in May, 1998, Pakistan-US relations had reached their lowest ebb. The US had curtailed all types of bilateral contacts and programmes, including trade, exchange of visits/delegations, aid projects, etc. US leaders were avoiding Pakistani diplomats’ requests for meetings. When Wasim Sajjad, the then chairman of the senate visited the US to persuade its leaders to restore trade relations, Pakistan Embassy in Washington was unable to arrange a meeting with any public figure. The situation was, indeed, quite challenging. Wasim Sajjad had a couple of friends of Pakistan origin in the US. The group included a few top physicians. When Wasim Sajjad talked to them about his mission, the physicians assured the Senate chairman that they would arrange his meetings with US leaders. True to their words, they lined up several meetings, including a luncheon meeting with the editorial board of The Washington Post.

The state, therefore, needs to work out some arrangement to enable it to benefit from expatriate Pakistanis. One option could be to provide them opportunities to invest in the Special Economic Zones and also enlist their help in the management of the economic zones by giving them representation on the management committees of those zones. Another option could be the creation of a special Consultative Forum comprising representatives of the overseas Pakistanis. This Forum could meet once or twice a year to chalk out proposals and programmes for consideration by appropriate national bodies.

Judging from the response to prime minister’s appeals for donations to the Bhasha-Diamir and Mohmand Dam Funds, one should not be too optimistic about the prospects of substantial investments.

The writer is a freelance columnist based at Islamabad:alauddinmasood@gmail.com