The federal government has directed ministries and divisions to gather details of civil servants' foreign nationalities, travel documents and their dependants' citizenship. The instruction appears in a notification the Establishment Division issued on October 21, linked to the Civil Servants (Disclosure and Regulation of Foreign Nationality) Rules, 2026. Officers who conceal such information or file false declarations could face disciplinary action.
The compilation drive is the latest step in a wider push to track foreign ties within the bureaucracy. Earlier this month, a separate office memorandum from the same division told civil servants to disclose foreign citizenship, foreign travel documents and marriages to foreign nationals within one week.
What the 2026 rules require
The rules oblige civil servants to declare their own and their dependants' nationality status within 90 days of the rules being published in the official gazette, the government's official record of notifications. Under Rule 3(3), officers must say whether they hold a foreign nationality, carry foreign travel documents, or are married to a foreign national. They must also give relevant details about their dependants' nationality and travel papers.
Under Rule 3(4), skipping the prescribed declaration or providing false information is treated as misconduct under the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020. The latest notification asks ministries and divisions to compile records of officers under their administrative control, and to send consolidated information to the Establishment Division. Officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service, Police Service of Pakistan, Secretariat Group and Office Management Group are excluded from this exercise.
The prescribed format asks for each officer's name, designation and basic pay scale. It also records whether each officer has filed the declaration, along with the foreign nationality and travel-document position of the officer and their dependants.
Asif's allegations and the wider debate
The disclosure push follows allegations by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif that some influential officials had arranged to settle abroad while still serving in government. In a post on X, he named Canada, the United States, Britain and several European countries as places where, he claimed, officials planned to set up permanent homes. He singled out Portugal as a destination for what he called a growing exodus of bureaucrats.
Asif also alleged that a person helping arrange permanent residency had fled after collecting significant sums from senior officials. He did not name the officials involved and did not provide documents to support his claims, so they remain unverified. He asked whether senior officers who held influential posts saw Pakistan as their permanent home, or treated public service as a temporary stage before moving abroad.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Earlier in October: the Establishment Division issued an office memorandum asking civil servants to disclose foreign citizenship, foreign travel documents and marriages to foreign nationals within one week.
- October 21: the Establishment Division's notification directed ministries and divisions to compile officers' foreign nationality details under the 2026 rules.
- Recently: Khawaja Asif posted allegations on X about officials' overseas settlement plans.
- Within 90 days of gazette publication: officers' declarations of their own and their dependants' nationality status fall due under the rules.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Sarkar ne ministries aur divisions ko kaha hai ke wo officers ki foreign nationality, travel documents aur dependants ki shehriyat ke record jama karein. Civil servants ko apni aur ghar walon ki nationality ka elaan 90 din ke andar karna hoga. Ghalat maloomat dena ya elaan na karna misconduct samjha jayega. Aam shehri ke bills ya qeemton par iska seedha asar nahi, lekin yeh sarkari officers ki shafafiyat ka mamla hai.
