Daily Times

The Supreme Court Wednesday set aside the Registrar Office’s objections regarding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI’s) petition to ensure overseas Pakistanis’ right to vote.

Justice Sajjad Ali Shah heard the PTI’s petition in his chamber and allowed the appeal against recent legislation on the rights of overseas Pakistanis.

After overturning the objections, the matter will be fixed before the bench for hearing. Uzair Bhandari is set to appear on behalf of the PTI.

Similarly, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah will take up PTI chief Imran Khan’s petition against the recent amendments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws on Friday.

Currently, four important PTI petitions are pending in the apex court. Earlier, the National Assembly had passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022 – removing the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and effectively disallowing overseas Pakistanis from voting in the next general polls.

The bill was passed with a majority vote, with only MNAs belonging to the Grand Democratic Alliance opposing it.

The legislation aims to conduct pilot projects in local by-elections before using i-voting and EVMs in the next general elections. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi had also presented a motion for allowing the bill to be sent directly to the Senate for its approval, bypassing the relevant standing committee.