LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has directed district and sessions judges of Punjab to furnish record of dual nationality holder judicial officers, if any, working under their domain.

A directive issued to the sessions judges instructed them to submit the required information within three days for onward transmission to the Supreme Court.

“In case, on scrutiny anyone is found to have dual nationality the learned district and sessions judge as well as the said judicial officer will face the consequences entailing disciplinary action against them,” it adds.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had on Jan 17 sought a list of judges and civil servants holding dual nationalities. The chief justice had taken suo motu during hearing a petition against civil servants from grade 17 to 21 having dual nationalities.

The bench had directed registrars of all the high courts to submit a list of dual national superior and lower judiciary judges.

The constitution does not put any bar on judges to hold dual nationality but there has been a demand to also bring the judges under the restriction since the apex court disqualified a number of parliamentarians for possessing dual nationality.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2018