To franchise or disenfranchise overseas Pakistani's?

Overseas Pakistanis have been coming under some stick recently. The Election Commissions recent decision that dual nationals will not be allowed to contest the upcoming elections has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

The current PPP government first suggested allowing overseas Pakistanis to caste votes a couple of years ago and a consultation process was initiated. Recently, the PTI moved a petition in the Supreme Court, calling on it to allow overseas Pakistanis to vote.

So on the one hand, votes count but standing in the same elections is to be allowed.

A question of patriotism

Living overseas is enough for ones patriotism to be questioned. Having a second nationality doesn’t help ones cause either. Some people say that,

“if you want to join politics, and serve Pakistan then giving up a second passport is a small thing to ask”

Perhaps, but what happens if you stand in elections and don’t win? No one is going to compensate you if one fails. At the same time its also a small thing to ask for voters of a constituency not to vote for such an individual if they consider his or her second nationality unappealing. 

Fast track corruption

The second line of argument goes something like:

“All these dual nationals can pack up and leave whenever they like. They line their pockets and leave”

Does that mean that people who have only Pakistani nationality are less corrupt? Or conversely, does this mean that overseas Pakistanis, because they presumably have the opportunity to dabble in corruption are necessarily corrupt? Essentially, they are being accused of being petty opportunists.

The second argument that they can pack up and leave is the one that I find most frustrating. Yes, I guess, people with second passports can leave when they like. But then again, politicians in Pakistan , given their social and economic status in the country are also quite mobile internationally. To think that the colour of their passport effects their mobility to the same degree as the average Pakistani is a gross exaggeration.

If people are behaving in a corrupt manner, they do so because they are confident that they can get away with it. They weigh the pros and cons and realise that the benefits of behaving in a corrupt manner is greater than the perceived risk or costs. The nationality of the individual is inconsequential to the extent that a foreign passport does not give an individual immunity when prosecuted for a crime. The fact that a Pakistani, overseas Pakistani or dual national knows that he or she can get away with a crime in the first place determines his or her ability to indulge in illegal activity. A second passport may be a convenience, however, its the system that is at fault, not the individual.

Men and women of a lesser God

Now when it comes to overseas Pakistanis, not all overseas Pakistanis are equal.

The vast majority constitute Pakistani labourers, who toil away in the Gulf, North Africa and to a lesser degree in places such as Malaysia. Now these workers, who primarily leave Pakistan in search of work, save a high propensity of their income. In doing so, they remit most of it. Thankfully, due to their efforts over the past few years, Pakistan has managed to contain its Current Account deficit given the massive inflows from such workers.

On the flip side, these overseas Pakistanis are the ones that are conveniently ignored. Before our grand Arab masters, the Pakistani state is unable or unwilling to voice any concern over the treatment that is meted out to them. For example, the seizing of labourers passports in the Gulf is a common practise which breaks the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The city state of Dubai, which effectively went bankrupt a year and a half ago, saw many managers and business owners leave the city in a rush. In doing so, they left without returning passports to labourers or clearing their wages. What did the government of Pakistan offer to such workers? Nothing. The BBC's Panorama looks at migrant workers in the UAE:

I dont even blame the government for such inaction. Dubai and the wider Gulf region has become a playground for the upper-middle and upper economic class of the country. The same people who buy second homes, work in managerial positions and enjoy vacations in these cities have no qualms about enjoying the fruits of the mass, systematic exploitation of their fellow countrymen in a foreign land, while complaining about corruption and injustice in Pakistan itself.

Return to Pakistan, and its these same labourers who are welcomed by rent seeking customs and immigration officials. When these same Pakistanis leave the country, they have to pay of immigration officials due to the “protector law”.

Most people think that all the people working in the Gulf are happy to do so, should consider that a few years ago the UAE government launched a scheme where they offered free tickets to workers who wanted to leave. The number of people who came forward was so large, that they had to eventually stop the entire project due to its cost and the poor press it received. If everything was so hunky dory the government of the UAE wouldn’t have paid the founder of Blackwater to hire and train mercenaries from Columbia, Angola, Namibia and South Africa as a rapid reaction force to put down any labour protests.

No, these overseas Pakistanis, have little hope of support from their host governments or their governments, but nevertheless the Pakistani state is grateful for their remittances. Effectively, the savings of poor labourers overseas, cross subsidises the tax dodging opulence of the Pakistani upper class, for without their remittances, the Pakistani economy would be in a much, much worse state at present.

Giving these Pakistanis the right to vote is little consolation given the injustice and exploitation they face. However, when we talk about overseas Pakistanis, we are not thinking about the poor labourers. Instead, we are looking at those living in the West. For they, supposedly have sold their souls to a foreign master. However, the Pakistani state selling Pakistanis into second class citizenship in the Arab world is well...just brotherly relations. 

The “Western” Pakistanis

No, the problems and the question of loyalty really comes up when we talk about Pakistanis who have dual nationality with Western countries. Pakistani-Brits, Pakistani-Americans etc. Another point that Pakistani commentator like to take up over and over again is to quote the American oath of allegiance. In all its glory:

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

People complain that how can someone who has taken this oath be patriotic towards or have Pakistan's best interest at heart? That is utter nonsense. We live in a globalised world where people move not because of changing nationalistic sentiments, but because of economic opportunity or familial pressure. If someone takes this oath that does not make them any more American or any less Pakistani. If you believe that this is infact the case, then you should also believe that when a girl marries a boy and moves to her boys household, her love for her parents and siblings is compromised. You then, should also believe that if a non-Muslim, in school in Pakistan, happens to sit through an Urdu class and comes across a chapter related to Islam and reads through it, he or she will become more Muslim and his or her faith in their religion is also compromised.

Why do British-Pakistanis support Pakistan in a England vs. Pakistan cricket match? I am sure they have sand God Save the Queen at some point in their life or attended a civics class in school?

I am not saying that overseas Pakistanis will always be patriotic towards Pakistan. I am sure they are now third or even fourth generation British or American Pakistanis, who probably have no link with Pakistan at all and no attachment. However, what I do disagree with are the nonsensical arguments that are made to disenfranchise overseas Pakistanis. 

Citizenship for another age

The primary function of oaths and citizenship was to make sure that they were always men that could be called upon to fight a war if need be. Through conscription, individuals could be drafted into military service. However, Pakistan doesn’t draft citizens into the military. And we are not fighting battles for local chieftains (or are we?).

The issue here isn't about the colour of ones passport.

To move beyond questioning ones patriotism, same sensible rules can be established for overseas Pakistanis who may want to participate in elections.

More important than citizenship is residency. For example, the UK along with many EU countries allow non-EU citizens to vote in local or city elections. An overseas Pakistani may be asked to reside in Pakistan for a qualifying period before being allowed to stand for office. He or she should make a declaration of income and assets, and if liable show a history of paying taxes in Pakistan.

The issue here is not about excluding individuals from running from office. The issue here is that constituents are being deprived of choice on the ballot. If the voters of X, Y or Z want to vote for an overseas Pakistani that’s their choice. What however, needs to be discouraged is for potential candidates not declaring dual citizenship, not because there is something wrong in having a second passport, but because that may raise questions on what else he or she is hiding.

In a future post I hope to talk about the economics of overseas Pakistanis and the role immigration plays in supporting our economy. However, in terms of politics, disenfranchising individuals should not be our goal, to serve some warped understanding of patriotism. On the one hand lobbying for overseas Pakistanis to vote, while denying them the right to stand in the same elections is setting dual standards and denies voters a full spectrum of choice.