Good News for Overseas Pakistanis Who Have Given Up Dual Citizenship
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior has approved the Citizenship Amendment Bill, allowing overseas Pakistanis to reclaim their Pakistani nationality.
Chaired by Khurram Nawaz, the committee was informed by the Law Ministry that the amendment addresses an old issue affecting Pakistanis who had to give up their citizenship after obtaining nationality in countries without dual citizenship agreements.
“We are amending the law to restore citizenship for those who lost it due to these limitations,” said a representative of the ministry.
The Director General of Passports added that Pakistan has now signed dual citizenship agreements with 22 more countries. Citizens of these countries will no longer be required to renounce their Pakistani nationality.
Chairman Khurram Nawaz welcomed the move, saying overseas Pakistanis should not have to choose between their homeland and their adopted countries.
PTI leader Zartaj Gul Wazir also supported the bill and called for an independent passport authority. “The passport department generates large revenues and should be given autonomy, like NADRA,” she said, praising the DG Passport’s performance and urging steps for better service delivery and transparency.
Reference Link:- https://propakistani.pk/2025/04/24/good-news-for-overseas-pakistanis-who-have-given-up-dual-citizenship/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
