Should Foreign Men Marrying Pakistani Women Get Pakistani Citizenship?

Posted on January 3, 2008
Filed Under >Owais Mughal, Law & Justice, Society
66 Comments
Total Views: 94291

Owais Mughal

Yes, if they want to, they should.

At present, they don’t. Pakistan Citizenship Act currently allows a foreigner girl marrying a Pakistani man to get Pakistani citizenship but not vice versa.

Recently, this question of gender equality got a boost from Federal Shariat Court in Pakistan as they declared the Pakistani Citizenship Act, 1951, to be discriminatory against women. On December 19, 2007, the Federal Shariat Court has asked the president of Pakistan to amend the Pakistan Citizenship Act within six months so that a woman’s foreign husband could get Pakistani citizenship, just like a foreign women married to Pakistani men.

In a 26-page judgment announced by the court, it says:

“We are of the view that Section 10 of the Citizenship
Act is discriminatory, negates gender equality and is in violation of Articles 2-A (Objective Resolution) and 25 (equality of citizens) of the Constitution, also against international commitments of Pakistan and, most importantly, is repugnant to the Holy Quran and Sunnah,”


According to Dawn news report of December 20, 2007:

The three-member bench comprising FSC Chief Justice Haziqul Khairi, Justice Dr Fida Muhammad Khan and Justice Salahuddin Mirza had taken suo motu notice on a news report in which a woman was denied the right to get Pakistani citizenship for her foreign husband, though the law entitled a man to obtain citizenship for his alien wife.

This same issue was also brought as a legislative bill before the recently out-gone National Assembly on March 18, 2004 but it got killed by the Government after a delibration of two years. The pretext of Government was that a foreign woman marrying a Pakistani man is not same as a foreign man married to a Pakistani woman. Granting citizenship to foreigner men by marrying a Pakistani girl would not only legalize the stay of a large number of illegal immigrants, but would also increase their influx.

The government also stated that the amendment to the current Pakistan Citizenship Act would add to unemployment and a foreign husband, after obtaining the citizenship, could divorce the woman and move around freely in the country.

Besides, in the Government view, it would also be a blanket approval for all foreign nationals to marry Pakistani women and obtain nationality, and majority of them could even misuse this provision, especially Afghan refugees and illegal Bengali and other South Asian immigrants.

I for one, do not agree with above points at all. I believe a family is the unit of society. Government laws should help keeping families together as well as without any gender bias. Laws should be same for both men and women. Therefore in my view the judgment of Federal Shariat Court is the correct one and if acted on, it will go long way in giving equal rights to women and men.

References:

1. Policy for Pakistani Citizenship
2. Paranoia and Patriotism by Irfan Hussain, Dawn, June 17, 2006.
3. MPs for Review of Citizenship Laws: Discrimination Against Women, Dawn, August 25, 2006.
4. Human Righs Commission of Pakistan

66 responses to “Should Foreign Men Marrying Pakistani Women Get Pakistani Citizenship?”

  1. RANA OMAIR says:

    people, I have reviewed all this
    “after obtaining the citizenship, could divorce the woman and move around freely in the country”

    and you should know that it is very common for foreigners to give divorce even in their own countries they easily give divorce to a women within 2,3 months after marriage, and due to this,
    to keep the culture clean and ratio of divorces small, and also for pakistan’s security, it is important not to go for this option.

    Second, as you people said, equal rights, then you should know that ALLAH has given the driving seat to MEN, instead of women, so if they are so much willing to get married then they can easily live in their country, and this is not the issue, if you consider the equality for man and woman then you have to see those countries, in which they are just ruine the life of women in the name of equality, and these NGO’s are also working here to distroy our culture, you tell Me doesn’t women get more than 70% rights here? see in banks, Buses, and trains and daily routine life, they always give preference in their respect.

    FOR GOD SAKE, DON’T FOLLOW WESTERN CULTURE, FOLLOW ISLAM.

  2. kamran says:

    hi
    plz, some one tell me honestly that can i get pakistani nationalaty? my mother is pakistani citizen but my father belongs to afghnistan.

  3. Moiz says:

    As-Salam-Alakum,

    can someone please guide / help me for valied-legal process of obtaining citizenship of pakistan.
    i am holding indian passport and my wife is pakistani national. we are residing in gulf since last 10 years.

    will be thankful for replies or support.

  4. Thalib Hussain says:

    Mr.mohammed abdul samad – As salam Wa alikum

    It’s you who have to decide what you exactly want to do….If you really love her then just go ahead without second thought…
    People are there to speak all rubbish things because it’s there bullchit work. It’s my personal adivce to you . If you love get married but “don’t betray”….and the rest is upto you.

  5. roya says:

    i just ask them i married uk citizan he is form iran. can i gat his passport and nadara id card. i have one son,how to found what can i do

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