Govt rejects rumours on voting age

Federal ministers on Monday shot down rumours regarding raising the voting age to 25 as part of a proposed 28th constitutional amendment amid strong criticism of any such move.

Information Minister Atta Tarar dismissed circulating rumours that the government was considering raising the minimum age for voters to 25, saying there was no need to respond to unverified claims.

"Responding to rumours is unnecessary. There are hundreds of different rumours circulating, and it is unclear who is spreading them," he said while talking to reporters.

Tarar added that the rumoured bill contained no such provisions regarding the minimum age for voters as reported in the media.

Tarar's statement came after Prime Minister's Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Saturday that the government was planning to increase the voting age during discussions related to the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment.

His suggestion was met with strong criticism by politicians and civil society. Questioned about the matter on private television programme 'Capital Talk', Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said there was nothing as such in the pipeline. "I at least don't know of any such discussion that has taken place," he said.

Questioned whether any discussion had taken place on any proposed 28th amendment in the cabinet, he responded: "absolutely not".

Speaking during a private television programme "Jirga", Sanaullah had remained non-committal when asked about the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment.

"It is settled that whatever amendment comes will be the 28th Amendment, because the 27th has already been done. So now, we should expect the 28th Amendment," he said.

However, he did not confirm whether such an amendment was under consideration, adding that the issues potentially linked to a 28th amendment were of fundamental importance and remained part of ongoing dialogue between political parties and their leadership.

Responding to a question, he endorsed Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's stance that no constitutional amendment could be passed without the ally's support.

"Yes, absolutely. He is correct in saying that no amendment can be made without them, and he is also right to the extent that they have not been informed that we are going to bring any 28th Amendment," he said.

He added, however, that the PPP was itself aware of the issues at hand and also had proposals for resolving them.

"Consensus-building has not yet begun. Until there is consensus, no move will be made towards any amendment," he said.