Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda was a dual national at the time of filing his nomination papers to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to contest the 2018 general elections, The News reported on Monday.
The minister, who was recently reprimanded by the premier for bringing a ‘boot’ to a TV show in a bizarre gimmick, was a United States national at the time of filing nomination papers, the report revealed.
Vawda submitted his nomination papers on June 11, 2018, which were approved by the election body a week later on June 18, the report said. However, the PTI MNA applied for the renunciation of his nationality with the US consulate at Karachi four days after the fact on June 22, 2018, the report revealed.
According to the law, dual nationals are not allowed to contest elections unless they give up their secondary nationality. The Supreme Court had in 2018 disqualified two lawmakers, Haroon Akhtar and Saadia Abbasi, for holding dual nationalities at the time of filing papers to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
“For reasons to be recorded later, we hold and declare that both Haroon Akhtar and Saadia Abbasi were dual nationals on the date when they filed their nomination papers for the Senate elections,” Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had observed while dictating the order.
Both the members were disqualified under Article 63(1)(c) of the Constitution, which says that a person will be disqualified from being elected or chosen member of parliament if he ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan or acquires the citizenship of a foreign state.
