# Ask the Pakistani Lawyer **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 13, 2010, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339 "2010-03-13T11:06:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/41 "2010-03-20T03:49:03Z")
How many women are on the bench? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/42 "2010-03-20T04:42:57Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Well, I don’t see them very often, and it’s been a while since I saw the last one, and it was probably at least a decade or two old, so I won’t rely on my memory on this one. > > However, this thread just became extraordinarily timely. > > My firm has a client who was born in Pakistan, but immigrated to Canada as a child and became a Canadian citizen in his late teens (he is now in his 30s). A U.S. green card-related issue that has just arisen for him (of which I won’t go into details for confidentiality reasons) hinges on whether he was ever a dual citizen of Pakistan since he arrived in the U.S. > > Well, initial research indicated that he wasn’t; the [source we usually use](http://www.opm.gov/EXTRA/INVESTIGATE/is-01.PDF)for this kind of info indicated that Pakistan doesn’t allow dual citizenship, and that one involuntarily loses Pakistani citizenship on acquiring any foreign citizenship (as was the case with our client). I tried double-checking with the Pakistani sites, but the links weren’t working. > > But now the links are working again, and it seems that [Pakistan now allows dual citizenship with certain countries,](http://www.pak.gov.pk/citizens.aspx) including Canada. > > So how would this work in the case of someone who had previously lost Pakistani citizenship by acquiring foreign citizenship? Would he automatically reacquire Pakistani citizenship, or would he have to apply for it? If the former, would restoration of Pakistani citizenship be retroactive? > > We will obviously be in touch with the Pakistani Consulate, but I have no idea what kind of luck we will have with them, so any guidance or citations you could provide would be most welcome. Further to my previous reply, that is all I can say per the rules of this board. If you want something further, I am available, you can PM me. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/43 "2010-03-20T06:15:29Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > How many women are on the bench? No women has ever been on the Supreme Court. To date one refused elevation from the High Court, the other went to the Internation Tribunal for Rawanda instead of the Supreme Court. There are several women Justices of the High Courts though. and many are Judges in the lower Courts Two non muslims have been Chief Justice of Pakistan; AR Cornelius (1960-1968) and Rana Bhagwandas (2007-2008), the former a Christian and the later a Hindu. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/44 "2010-03-20T06:28:50Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Is the law applied consistently throughout the nation? Yes. Each province has some areas where they alone can legislate and they law may be different. And as each province has a High Court as its final court of appeal, they High Courts may occassionally give different decisions, though often times the Supreme Court will later hand down a definative judgement. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/45 "2010-03-20T06:35:52Z")
> [@Perciful](#): > > Hi and Congrats on your law degree! > > I recently saw a documentary on Pakistan. It was by EWTN or The Catholic Network. There is a region of Pakistan that the Christians live but they are a small minority. The biggest problem is getting the Pakistan government to build schools for the children. Some children attend school outside in all kinds of weather. Why does the government allow this? The money is there and the United States pays Pakistan to build schools but they don’t? > > This leads to children to not get an education and join militia groups. Now the Catholic run schools show a much brighter picture. They are clean and the faith of the children is not interfered with. The Catholic children go to mass and the others can practice their own beliefs. I was amazed at how poor these families were. One little boy quit school to go pump gas for a penny an hour. His Mother said she can’t make it without him working. He was like 8 years old. > > Ok, So my question is where does the US funding go if not to build schools? As you know yourself, education is everything. Christian live all over Pakistan. In some far flung rural areas all over the Sub Continent, school is outside or is in a small schoolhouse. Yes education is important. Very much so. “US Aid” incidentally is mostly in the form of reimbursements for using Pakistani facilities, for instance airbases ports etc. USAID does have educational development but they are administered themselves. Really nice Catholic school then, they one I went to i) mass was compulsory and ii) much more annoyingly so were our own religious rites, the Father would stand outside the Mosque to make sure we would go. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/46 "2010-03-20T06:40:52Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Heh. Interesting - I’d not expected that, but it makes sense, of course. Are there many conferences where Pakistani and Indian lawyers regularly attend and discuss legal problems they’ve got in common? Do Pakistani lawyers tend to have more moderate views of Pakistan-Indian relations than the general population? > > Do you know if Indian jurists often cite Pakistani cases? There are a few conferances yes but not many. Pakistan lawyers are mostly i)urban ii)educated iii)middle class iv)professional. These are the groups that hate India with a passion. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/47 "2010-03-20T06:59:05Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Pakistan lawyers are mostly i)urban ii)educated iii)middle class iv)professional. > > These are the groups that hate India with a passion. I find this somewhat surprising. Could you explain why this is the case? My guess would have been that lower-middle class, religious Pakistanis would have been the most hostile towards India. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/48 "2010-03-20T07:20:31Z")
Your guess would have been wrong then. Dates back to Partition. The religious parties were against the creation of Pakistan while most of the urban population wanted a seperate homeland and the rural areas were neutral. When Partition came it was the urban people that suffered the most in the violance that followed. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/49 "2010-03-20T07:57:21Z")
Is Pakistan a common-law jurisdiction? (I get the feeling that it is, based on the discussion so far.) And if so, does it look to other common-law jurisdictions for guidance? Here in Canada, for example, we will sometimes look to other common-law jurisdictions for guidance (e.g. the US, Australia, NZ, the UK), although their decisions carry no legal weight in Canada. Still, as common-law decisions in matters of private law, such decisions are useful in guiding our courts. Just wondering if Pakistan, coming from the British legal common-law tradition as we do (I assume, based on the discussion so far), is the same. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/50 "2010-03-20T09:06:35Z")
As the Supreme Court and legal acedemics have held many times, Pakistan is a common law country based upon the common law of england and wales. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/51 "2010-03-20T10:36:58Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Lawyer jokes are welcome! Yes, please tell us a Pakistani lawyer joke, if there is such a thing particular tp Pakistani lawyers. Possibly I won’t understand it if it involves Pakistani law, but give it your best shot. Have you heard this one? What do you call a thousand Pakistani lawyers at the bottom of the ocean\> ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/52 "2010-03-20T15:00:41Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Christian live all over Pakistan. In some far flung rural areas all over the Sub Continent, school is outside or is in a small schoolhouse. > > Yes education is important. Very much so. “US Aid” incidentally is mostly in the form of reimbursements for using Pakistani facilities, for instance airbases ports etc. USAID does have educational development but they are administered themselves. > > Really nice Catholic school then, they one I went to i) mass was compulsory and ii) much more annoyingly so were our own religious rites, the Father would stand outside the Mosque to make sure we would go. They still make you go! 😉 Thank you, So the money is not put out for the building of schools but in a reimbursement. I saw some very smart children who were not getting the education they desperately wanted. I wish I could remember the area of Pakistan that the documentary was filmed at? They were trying to get the schools built but the laborers were not showing up or being paid. They also had phantom schools that were empty. I am always impressed by the Pakistani doctors I have met. They treat people with dignity and really make time for the patient. We had a Pakistani doctor take over the local health clinic. This is not for the light hearted, a huge job! I brought in a friend that needed care and he was just amazing. He took the time to really help my friend to get the problem addressed and taken care of. My friend had not been to a doctor in 20 years! He also helped to get a large new health care clinic built that consolidated many smaller clinics that were renting small buildings. Now they own the land and the building and it is large and modern. This will cut costs and increase efficiency. Thank you and I hope you always advocate for education when you can. It is so vitally important for Pakistan. Good Luck with your new job! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/53 "2010-03-21T13:35:17Z")
Phantom schools was a big scandal a few years ago. Most of it was not as bad as it sounded, schools were consolidated but the records were never changed or authorised but never built, but a few were truly phantom ---
**Author:** ![ExVoxMachina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@ExVoxMachina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExVoxMachina)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/54 "2010-03-21T18:53:07Z")
What do you think of Pakistan’s executive branch attempt to take the power to reject Supreme Court appointments out of the hands of the chief justice? Do you think the amendment will pass? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/55 "2010-03-22T19:07:31Z")
I think its necesary that the appointments be made by an independant neutral entity. Where the final decision is not with the executive or the judiciary. I think most will. THe three largest parties are agreed and they combined have enough seats. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/56 "2010-03-22T19:13:51Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Further to my previous reply, that is all I can say per the rules of this board. If you want something further, I am available, you can PM me. I’d love to, but you don’t seem to have that function enabled. I do, so I’d greatly appreciate if you’d PM me. Yours in solidarity with the Huddleed Masses, **Eva** ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/57 "2014-05-19T13:58:13Z")
How does the killing of Rashid Rehman feature in the lives of Pakistani lawyers? Do you guys talk about it at all?(as something having a bearing on the profession, not just as citizens) Is there sympathy with the idea of defending blasphemy accused? Does it deter lawyers from doing so? Anything else you can tell me about such incidents and Pakistan’s lawyer community would be welcome. I just wanted to take the opportunity of getting such specific insight from a source close to the events. TIA. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/58 "2014-05-21T09:10:44Z")
Bump in case it was missed. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/59 "2014-05-21T14:44:05Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > The biggest problems that exist are not corruption, but costs, complexity and delay. Litagation costs A LOT of money and the procedures are at times archaic and annoying. Well, that certainly sounds familiar. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339/60 "2014-05-21T17:51:47Z")
A [link](http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-250779-Identify-killers-of-Rashid-Rehmandemand-South-Asian-groups) would be useful. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-pakistani-lawyer/532339.md?page=4)