Expats voting right pleas clubbed

Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah on Wednesday said that the voting procedure for Pakistanis living abroad has to be decided by the institutions, not the court.

During the hearing on a petition related to the change in voting procedure for overseas Pakistanis, the petitioner’s lawyer, Muhammad Iqbal Kokab, appeared before the court and contended that the government had unconstitutionally amended the law that had given overseas Pakistanis the right to vote.

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The chief justice said that the amendment has not abolished the right to vote for Pakistanis living abroad.  “Will nine million more Pakistanis vote in one constituency?” he asked.

Justice Minallah said that the voting procedure for overseas Pakistanis is a very complicated issue. “Everyone comes with an application, but no one knows the law,” he remarked.

“The voting procedure of Pakistanis living abroad has to be decided by the institutions, not the court,” he added.

He directed that all the petitions filed against the change in voting procedure for overseas Pakistanis should be merged.

The court then adjourned the case till June 3.