Central Secretary Information of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) Aasia Ishqaue on Thursday urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to look into the decision of reserving the rights of vote of overseas Pakistanis.
The APML demanded an earlier revision of the decision, which according to it was based on injustice with millions of Pakistanis living far from their beloved families. The ECP had decided a few days back that 4 million overseas Pakistanis would not be able to exercise their right to vote from their country of residence.
“Overseas Pakistanis are the backbone of country’s economy; they are living abroad just for the betterment of their families and economical health of the country despite so many hurdles. So they should be allowed to caste their votes in next general election in order to choose their favorite political parties and leaders,” she urged.
She said that ECP’s reason behind this decision was “legal hurdles and the unavailability of an adequate voting mechanism”. She added that the government was bound to provide all kind of legal and technical assistance to ECP so that all Pakistanis, whether living in the country or abroad, could caste their votes.
She said that vote was a fundamental right of every Pakistani according to the constitution and the government could not snatch this constitutional right from any body.
The APML leader said that next general election would be crucial for the country as the people were now more aware and they would use their votes for the right political parties and leaders.
She said that vote of overseas Pakistanis would bring real change in the political scenario of country. It is in this backdrop that ECP should look in to its decision and reverse it without much delay, she maintained.
