Voting rights: Overseas Pakistanis thank Imran, Zulfi

LONDON: Overseas Pakistanis in the UK, Europe, America and Middle East have thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan and former special assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari for giving voting rights to the overseas Pakistanis.

In their messages sent to this paper through phone calls and Whatsapp, dozens of prominent voices in the Pakistani community shared their happiness for granting the right to vote. They have credited PM Imran Khan for seriously taking up the issue of overseas voting rights and also thanked Zulfi Bukhari for championing the cause for three years when he served as the overseas minister and engaged with overseas communities during his visits and online, during the pandemic.

British Pakistani community leader Syed Qamar Raza said that for decades, overseas Pakistanis suffered from disenfranchisement in their own homeland. “The PTI has corrected that wrong and given us the right to vote. The PM deserves congratulations for this achievement. This has not been an easy journey. We engaged with Zulfi Bukhari and he was always there to lead on this issue. He is not in the same ministry today but we saw him in action both in the UK and Pakistan."

Maliha Rajpoot from West London said: "Thank you Imran Khan and Zulfi Bukhari for giving the right to vote. It was our dream to be able to take part in Pakistan’s political system as stakeholders and we have got that right. Imran Khan always stood up for overseas Pakistanis and his mission has been effectively carried forward by Zulfi Bukhari who has been personally helpful to me when I reached out to him. To be honest, nobody else in the government offered me any help in my land dispute. This has strengthened my belief in Pakistan."

Noting overseas Pakistanis' generous contributions for their country in times of crises, earlier Prime Minister Imran Khan said they held a "special place" in his heart and termed them Pakistan's "biggest asset".

"If we truly tap this asset, then we won't need IMF or any other loans. But unfortunately, we never considered them assets and instead of easing their lives, we created more difficulties for them," the PM regretted.

Amanat Hussain from Spain said he had met hundreds of Pakistanis from all parties and all of them are happy that they have got the right to vote. Amanat said he met Zulfi Bukhari during a visit to Islamabad with a delegation of Pakistanis from Europe for the voting rights.

“I found Zulfi Bukhari to be very passionate about overseas voting rights and he promised us he will convey our views to the PM. Within three days, he met the PM and then informed us that he had passed on our message to the PM, who assured us of his resolve. We are thankful to them for this step in the right direction.”

Asif Butt from Manchester highly appreciated the steps taken by the Overseas Ministry in the last three years to engage with the overseas Pakistanis. “For the first time ever, we have felt ownership of Pakistan. The PTI government and especially the overseas ministry led the charge for the overseas Pakistanis. We are today more empowered than before.”

British Pakistani community leader Naeem Ahmed Abbasi said that during his last visit as the overseas minister, Zulfi Bukhari held meetings with UK ministers, ministers at Pakistan High Commission and NADRA officials regarding the issues faced by overseas Pakistanis. He said Zulfi Bukhari was determined to resolve the issues of overseas Pakistanis and did his best to articulate the views and concerns of the diaspora.

During his time as Overseas Minister, Zulfi Bukhari regularly engaged through media on issues of overseas Pakistanis and worked with the diaspora community organisations. Speaking to Adam Boulton on a prime time Sky News show, Zulfi Bukhari said PM Imran Khan had delivered his promise to nine million overseas Pakistanis in order to strengthen democracy in Pakistan. Zulfi Bukhari told Sky News that voting rights for overseas Pakistanis was a “big step”.

Talking about the 1.3 million overseas Pakistanis in the UK, he said that the British Pakistani community was heavily entrenched but it was not possible for everyone to travel to Pakistan to cast their votes. Now, he said, they have got voting rights like the people of the Philippines, Germany, Italy, America.

He agreed with Adam Boulton’s assessment that participation of nearly nine million voters could swing the outcome in key seats. Zulfi said that elections in around 25-30 constituencies could swing as a result of the overseas participation. He slammed the opposition parties for making the process controversial. “The opposition is scared of this and they are trying to make the process controversial but they will not succeed," Zulfi Bukhari told Adam Boulton. The premier has said the passage of legislation regarding EVMs also made him very happy, and noted that rapidly changing technology was bringing ease to human lives in all spheres.