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national assembly. Photo: Archive
ISLAMABAD:
The Standing Committee on Home Affairs of the National Assembly on Tuesday postponed the Pakistan Citizenship Bill 2025 after extensive deliberation, seeking opinion from relevant authorities before moving forward.
During the session, held in Parliament under the chairmanship of Raja Khurram Nawaz, committee members and officials expressed differences on key issues including citizenship, national identity cards and deadlines for post-1971 East Pakistani migrants.
The Minister of State for the Interior, Talal Chaudhry, stressed that the bill must be ultimately approved by the National Assembly and that its final approval corresponds to the country’s political leaders.
He urged all political parties to engage in dialogue and reach a consensus to resolve this delicate matter. “All political parties should sit together to create unanimity,” he said.
Qadir Patel, a member of the committee, highlighted that migration to Pakistan is still continuing, making citizenship issues particularly sensitive. He called for careful consideration of the legal framework to avoid further complications for incoming migrants.
The committee approved the Islamabad Senior Citizenship Bill 2025, tabled by Sharmila Farooqi, which proposes that senior citizens aged 60 years and above receive special concessions and discounts based on their existing identity documents, eliminating the need for a separate senior citizen card.
Under the bill, seniors would be entitled to a 25% discount on various government and private services. Farooqi highlighted that this initiative would provide tangible relief to senior citizens without creating additional bureaucratic hurdles.
Nabeel Gabol, another member of the committee, highlighted the need to consult NADRA, noting that biometric verification can sometimes be a challenge for citizens over 60 years of age, as fingerprint impressions may not always be clear.
Minister Talal Chaudhry added that the benefits of the bill should extend beyond Islamabad and apply across the country. “If this is a good bill, it should apply nationwide,” he said.
The Pakistan Citizenship Bill 2025, introduced by Khawaja Izharul Hassan, was also reviewed in detail. Hassan reminded the committee that a significant number of people had voluntarily emigrated from East Pakistan in 1971, but many citizens of Karachi and other cities remain without national identity documents.
He noted that the third generation of these immigrants has now reached adulthood in Pakistan, but citizenship challenges remain.
