Overseas Pakistanis’ money is good — but not their vote?

In 2014, overseas Pakistanis added $17 billion to the country’s foreign exchange coffers through home remittances, which is nearly six per cent of Pakistan’s GDP, a significant contribution to its economy. In the last 10 years, overseas Pakistanis have pumped over $150 billion into Pakistan, which is more than all the money given by the World Bank, IMF, Asian Development Bank and the US put together.

Without the generation of foreign exchange through home remittances, Pakistan would have defaulted several times over on its balance of trade obligations. The country’s exports have not kept pace with imports, resulting in a significant foreign currency shortfall each year and this is where home remittances save the day for Pakistan. The 2013 balance of trade deficit (gap between imports and exports) of $16 billion was substantially met by home remittances.

Overseas Pakistanis make major contributions to the country’s economy year after year. They are proud of their country and their contribution to their homeland. They expect their country and the government to be proud of them too, but alas that is not the case as they are not even allowed to participate in the electoral process. It is unfortunate that despite the Supreme Court’s orders to arrange voting facilities for overseas Pakistanis, no effort has been made either by the previous or current governments in this regard. Overseas Pakistanis have the right to ask: is our money good enough, but not our vote?

Many Pakistanis living abroad have NICOP cards and those living in Europe, North America and Australia are computer literate. It should not be difficult to arrange online voting facilities for them provided the will is there on the part of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to include millions of Pakistanis abroad in the voting process. In the Middle East, where a large number of construction workers reside, physical voting should be arranged through embassies and consulates. NADRA could be mandated to determine constituencies in federal and provincial elections for NICOP-holders abroad. Voting should commence two to four weeks in advance of the election date, so that those physical votes can be counted and forwarded to the ECP in time for inclusion in constituency results. Computer servers at the ECP should control and tally electronic votes well before the election date, so that these too are included in the final results.

Holding dual nationalities is not a crime, nor does a dual national lose his or her Pakistani nationality. So, why are dual nationals prevented from contesting elections? The leader of the opposition in Canada’s House of Commons is a dual citizen. He reportedly has a Canadian and a French passport, but no one ever questions his loyalty to Canada! So why question the loyalties of overseas Pakistanis who have dual citizenship? Granted, the Constitution currently does not allow dual nationals to contest elections, but that can easily be changed. If certain amendments can be rushed through parliament in a couple of days, why not this amendment?

It is time overseas Pakistanis were treated with respect and dignity and provided with voting rights and the right to contest elections without having to surrender their second nationality. They are immensely proud of their country and take pride in helping it meet its economic challenges. It is time for the Pakistani government, judiciary, bureaucrats and politicians to show the same respect to overseas Pakistanis.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2015.

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