Manama: Bahrain’s Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa on Wednesday asked Qatar to stop granting the Qatari citizenship to Bahraini nationals.
In a statement, the minister said there was a general resentment toward the Qatari policy of offering the Qatari citizenship to selected Bahrainis and asking them to give up their Bahrain citizenship considered a source of pride by all Bahrainis.
“Such a policy goes against the brotherly and cooperative spirit between the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),” he said, referring to the loose regional alliance that brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“Bahrain continues to call for the Gulf citizenship and treats all GCC nationals according to this principle,” the Minister said. “We are one family with one kinship, religion, language and common history. We also work together in accordance with the GCC and the Arab League.”
The minister deplored that the “illegal procedures taken by Qatar had led to the arrest the son of a Bahraini family.”
The minister was referring to Salah Mohammad Al Jalahma who was detained in Bahrain for obtaining the Qatari citizenship and illegally giving up his Bahraini nationality.
Al Jalahma was released after he submitted a written apology, in which he vowed to correct his legal status to comply with the Nationality Law.
“His family is among some of the most loyal and law abiding families of Bahrain who are known for their honourable history and impeccable reputation that does not normally lead to breaking the law and facing detention and several other measures,” the minister said. “If the unfriendly policies by Qatar and its attempts to entice Bahrainis to give up their nationality continue, Bahrain will be forced to take measures that it would not have otherwise chosen. We ask the State of Qatar to stop its inexcusable measures,” he said.
