Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira claimed that dual nationality law was being amended for ‘those Pakistanis whose hearts beat with their country’. He was addressing media men at Dera Kaira – his hometown in Lala Musa. I too belong to Lala Musa. But I have lived in Oslo for donkey’s years, yet I have never had the urge to obtain dual nationality. My roots are in Lala Musa; my heart beats for the city that has been associated with manufacturing counterfeit cosmetics. When I go down the memory lane, I see innumerable tongas lined on the GT Road to fetch the few passengers that alighted from buses. I was one such passenger. The ride from ‘Lalum USA’ (that’s how we lovingly called Lala Musa) to my village, six miles on the dirt track meandering through green crops, used to rejuvenate our spirit. Alas! Tongas have mostly disappeared and replaced by Qingchis, which make ear-splitting noise. Norway is a second home to thousands of Pakistanis, many hailing from Lala Musa and Kharian. Pakistanis are so high in number that some suggest renaming Norway to Kharway. Yet hardly anyone wants to have a dual nationality; all want to return to their roots and buried there. Therefore, Mr Kaira, you need not use our shoulders. We are every inch Pakistanis and want to remain so.
Dr A P Sangdil,
Norway, July 11.