Pakistan yesterday disowned citizens who have obtained Hong Kong passports, opening the way for them to obtain full British citizenship.
It told Britain that holders of the British National (Overseas) passport who had retained their Pakistani travel documents would no longer be considered citizens of Pakistan.
Uncertainty had been hanging over passport-holders who had illegally kept their options open by failing to renounce their Pakistani citizenship after obtaining the British document available to Hong Kong permanent residents.
Consul-General Tariq Puri said he would now write to holders of both passports requesting they return their Pakistani travel documents.
Despite a sign hanging in the visa section of the consulate telling BNO passport-holders they had ceased to hold Pakistani citizenship, a number have continued to retain their home country's passport.
The move to disown Pakistanis with BNO passports was made in response to requests from the British Government querying Islamabad's treatment of its citizens holding the documents.
