An open letter to SC: List of dual nationals submitted Begum Shehnaz Sheikh

Begum Shehnaz Sheikh

PML-Q’s former MNA Begum Shehnaz Sheikh submitted through an open letter to the Supreme Court on Monday a list of parliamentarians having dual nationality.

In her open letter written to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, she alleged that the cases of all the parliamentarians having dual nationality were not equally dealt with. She requested the apex court to put the procedure pertaining to reimbursement of benefits enjoyed by the dual nationality holder parliamentarians, on hold until the final verdict on the pending review pleas of the dual nationality holders was delivered.

In her letter, she mentioned the names of 20 dual nationality holder parliamentarians. She said a few of those, whose membership was suspended by the apex court, still continued to remain at their offices. The letter includes the names of Asim Hussain, Raza Haroon, Shahbeen Rizvi, Tayyib Hussain, Fauzia Ejaz and Jameel Ashraf.

Shehnaz Sheikh alleged that she was not justly dealt with despite she had tendered her resignation. She claimed that all dual nationality holder members of parliament were not equally treated. She said all dual nationality holder parliamentarians were not directed to return all the monetary benefits they had drawn during the period they occupied public offices and other emoluments from the public exchequer, including monthly remunerations, TA/DA and facilities of accommodation, along with other perks etc.

She requested the apex court to stop all proceedings of reimbursement of monetary benefits granted to the suspended parliamentarians until a decision came on the review pleas filed against the Supreme Court’s verdict of disqualifying 11 members of parliament.

It may be recalled here that the membership of Begum Shehnaz Sheikh was suspended by the Supreme Court in October 2012 for holding Australian nationality, while being a Pakistani national and a member of the parliament.(The News)

Sectarian killings won’t stop sans tackling root cause: HRCP

The continuing spilling of blood in sectarian killings in Quetta and Gilgit Baltistan manifests a blatant failure to address religious intolerance in society, which constitutes one of the biggest threats for the country, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said on Wednesday.

The Commission said in a statement: “HRCP is alarmed by the continuing sectarian bloodshed in Pakistan, particularly in Quetta and Gilgit Baltistan. The killings demonstrate a disturbing pattern and appear to be part of a well-planned sequence. It has been stated that miscreants from Afghanistan have been involved. That may be one problem but it certainly is not the only one. The mindless bloodshed that we witness day in and day out is rooted in religious intolerance cultivated by the state. Politics in the name of religion has substantially worsened what was already an appalling situation. It is alarming that no one responsible for these killings has been nabbed in years. The people are paying the price of indifference with their lives. Rather than wasting time on addressing mere symptoms,the root cause of the problem must be identified and addressed. Instead of living in denial, we must now identify the policies that strengthen extremism and promote faith-based hatred in society. These constitute the single biggest threat to Pakistan.

In these perilous times, all those who believe in people’s rights, human dignity and Pakistan’s future must not remain silent. Otherwise the consequences for the country will be unimaginably disastrous. It is time for the government, all democratic-minded political parties and conscious citizens to join hands to think of a way out of this brutal vortex in order to rescue the state that has been held to ransom by extremism and obscurantism.”