ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has cancelled the citizenship of former Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl (JUI-F) senator Hafiz Hamdullah.
The news came to the forefront after Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) directed TV channels not to invite the politician as a guest on talks shows.
The PEMRA notification referenced a NADRA letter dated October 11 that affirmed that the JUI-F leader was not a citizen of Pakistan and has been labeled a ‘confirmed alien’.
“Senator Hafiz Hamdullah Saboor is ‘confirmed Alien’ as he is not a citizen of Pakistan,” said the notification from the media regulatory.
It further said NADRA has also cancelled and digitally impounded the Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) issued to Hamdullah.
The notification also stated that NADRA had cancelled the CNIC of the JUI-F leader implying that the former senator is no longer a citizen of Pakistan.
Hamdullah had been elected as an MPA from Balochistan in the 2002 general elections on a Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) ticket and served as provincial health minister from 2002 till 2005. He was elected to the Senate in 2012 on a general seat as a JUI-F candidate and served till last year.
He frequently makes appearances in evening political talk shows on various news channels. The directive comes just days before the JUI-F is scheduled to lead an anti-government ‘Azadi March’ in Islamabad.
Hafiz Hamdullah of JUI-F is declared an alien. This man has been a senator. pic.twitter.com/Py1p2z3F0T
— Ali Salman Alvi (@alisalmanalvi) October 26, 2019
