PML-N and PPP ‘fear’ overseas Pakistanis: Fawad

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is determined to grant voting rights to overseas Pakistanis and claimed the reason behind the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) “fear” of it was because of the Prime Minister’s popularity with expats.

“It seems strange that both the PML-N and the PPP are afraid of giving voting rights to the overseas Pakistanis as these parties know that Prime Minister Imran Khan is the most popular leader among the expatriate Pakistanis,” Chaudhry said while briefing the media after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

According to state-run Radio Pakistan, the information minister said the government is determined to give voting rights to overseas Pakistanis and to take steps to hold next general elections through Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). The minister once again described EVMs as the “best way to ensure transparency in the election process” and the machines Pakistan wants to adopt “will have both paper and electronic trail of the ballot”.

Chaudhry said: “Overseas Pakistanis are a great asset for Pakistan as they contribute a lot to the national economy. The Tehreek-e-Insaf government is determined to introduce e-voting for the overseas Pakistanis so that they can participate in electing the national leadership of the country.”

Chaudhry also criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for objecting to the election bill. “The ECP cannot raise questions over Parliament’s decisions, the commission’s job is to implement the law approved by the Parliament. If someone wants to play politics, they should leave ECP and form a political party. Parliament is supreme, ECP should respect the privileges of Parliament.”

Responding to a question, Chaudhry urged the opposition parties to utilise Parliament for making their suggestions for electoral reforms instead of constituting other political forums. He said in this regard “we welcome the suggestions of all stakeholders.”

“Parliamentary leaders should sit with us and discuss electoral reforms. People in Parliament should talk about electoral reforms,” stressed the information minister. He also made it clear that the electoral reforms can only be discussed with the parties in Parliament.

The minister said the government does not consider former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman as “stakeholders” when it comes to discussing electoral reforms.

Among the decisions that the cabinet took, the minister said the cabinet approved the Public Property Encroachment Bill to recover state lands from illegal occupants across Pakistan.

The cabinet also approved Pakistanis having dual nationality with Luxembourg. Regarding issues faced by vaccinated Pakistanis going abroad, he said discussions are under way between various countries and the World Health Organisation to accord approval of different vaccines.

He also announced that Aslam Khan has been appointed as new chairman of Pakistan International Airlines.