Islamabad: The Senator of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Zafar Ali Shah has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the dual nationality of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief and seeking disqualification of both the party Chief and Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad Khan for holding dual nationality.
The petition was filed on Thursday under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution of Pakistan stating that MQM head Altaf Hussain is not eligible of leading the party as he holds dual nationality.
It named as respondents the Federal government, the Election Commission of Pakistan, the Cabinet Division, the Interior Ministry, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, its chief Altaf Hussain, Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad, MQM Deputy Conveyor Dr Farooq Sattar, all MQM National and Provincial Assembly members and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
‘Altaf should be disqualified from his membership of parliament as it is a fact that Altaf was declared a citizen of the UK,’ petitioner said.
The petition further says, ‘Legislators are supposed to be loyal with their party head and bound to accept his orders in the assembly. But how the legislators of a party, whose head is a foreign national and not eligible to be a parliamentarian under the constitution, can justify their loyalty to their leader.’