PM vows to introduce voting rights for overseas Pakistanis
Imran unveils plan to introduce e-voting system, will hold elections for Senate through ‘show of hands’ and not by secret ballot; PM to leave for maiden Kabul visit today
Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced to introduce electronic voting system to ensure utmost transparency in the election process.
Talking to media in Islamabad, he said a mechanism will also be brought in for overseas Pakistanis so that they, too, can participate in the polling to elect their representatives in the next general elections.
He said Nadra data will be utilised for the electronic voting in the country for which Election Commission of Pakistan is being consulted. He said a bill for these reforms will soon be introduced in the parliament.
Imran said elections in Azad Kashmir and Senate are approaching soon, while general election will be held in 2023. He said the prime objective to introduce these reforms is to ensure fair and transparent elections in Pakistan and enhance people’s trust in the polling process.
The prime minister also announced to introduce a Constitutional Amendment for Senate elections through show of hands instead of secret balloting to end sale and purchase of votes.
He said the constitutional amendment is not possible without two-third majority in the parliament and for this purpose government needs other parties’ support as the Pakistan Tehrik-e-insaf (PTI) does not has the required number of votes to amend the constitution.
Talking about PTI’S victory in recent election in Gilgit-baltistan, Imran Khan reiterated his resolve to give provisional provincial status to GB to fulfill the long desired demand of the people. He said we will give a detailed plan to fulfill our commitment of granting provisional provincial status to GB.
Imran also thanked the people of GilgitBaltistan for reposing trust in PTI. He also appreciated the PTI team for its massive campaigning during the GB election.
Imran Khan, on invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, will leave for a day-long visit to Kabul on Thursday, the Foreign Office said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
This will be the premier’s first visit to Afghanistan since assuming office in 2018, the Dawn reported.
He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Adviser on Commerce to the Prime Minister Razak Dawood, and other senior officials, the statement added.
“The Prime Minister’s programme includes tete-e-tete with President Ashraf Ghani, delegation-level talks, and joint press stake-out. The focus would be on further deepening the fraternal bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Afghan peace process, and regional economic development and connectivity,” it said.
The premier’s visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to the FO, “building on the sustained engagement between the two countries in recent months for enhancing bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.”
According to a media report, a residential plot of his brother-in-law about which Prime Minister recently spoke in a TV interview was still not in his relative’s possession.
The plot was cited as the main reason for the appointment of the Lahore police chief. It was said that the official had goten the plot freed from the clutches of the ‘qabza mafia’ (land-grabbers).
However, a report said what the premier did not know then is that his brother-in-law’s plot in Lahore is still out of the later’s reach — thanks to yet another court stay order.
Imran had said that despite his best efforts as the Prime Minister of Pakistan he could not get his brother-in-law’s plot vacated from the clutches of what he termed the ‘ qabza mafia,’ which became the reason for the appointment of the incumbent Lahore police chief Umar Sheikh.
The prime minister said he had been pursuing the Punjab government for more than two years but had failed to get the illegal possession of the plot vacated. However, the newly appointed police chief, he said, had managed to come down hard against the mafia. However, the prime minister’s brother-in-law Abdul Ahad Khan maintains that the plot is still not in his possession thanks to a fresh stay order issued by a local court.