Sir: The United Nations adopted the International Convention on Civil and political Rights (ICCPR) in 1966 and officially implemented it in 1976 to ensure that no one is denied his or her right to equal voting, freedom of political association, due process of law, freedom of life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. On April 17, 2008, the government of Pakistan has signed ICCPR, which was ratified on June 23, 2010 with a certain reservation. At the time of ratification, Pakistan expressed reservations on articles 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, 18, 19, 25 and 40 of the Convention. The world community raised the question: do the Pakistani reservations comply with international law? Most of the reservations were incompatible with the objectives of ICCPR and need to be withdrawn. Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani directed to withdraw most of the reservations regarding articles 6, 7, 12, 13, 18, 19 and 40 of ICCPR. As a result, there are now only two reservations regarding articles 3 and 25 that seem unspecific and non-transparent. According to article 3, the state is bound to “ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set forth in the present Covenant.” This reservation is not transparent and infringes the basic right of active participation in politics for both men and women. According to article 25, every citizen has a right: a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors; (c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his country.” It is clear from the article that the reservation violates many rights of political parties and the reservation is also not specific. If Pakistan wants to maintain its constitutional requirements, then specific reservations must be submitted. The implementation of this Convention can bring a good change in the elections of 2013 as Pakistan is bound to take meaningful steps to ensure that the rights provided under ICCPR are made enforceable domestically and that the laws and practices are changed accordingly. So far, very few steps have been taken to fulfil international obligations related to democratic election reforms. After the ratification of ICCPR, this is the first election that, with little effort, can bring electoral reforms for fair elections and can change the whole history of elections in Pakistan. SHAMREEZA RIAZ Islamabad