Federal Information for Minister, Fawad Chaudhry during a news conference on Tuesday stated that the “PPP and PML-N are fearful of overseas Pakistanis” and that overseas Pakistanis do not trust these parties.
Chaudhry spoke about the hurdles faced in the electoral reforms in a press conference after a cabinet meeting.
“Electoral reforms are pending due to the problems being faced regarding the right to vote for overseas Pakistanis,” said the minister. “People living abroad should have the right to vote as they send over Rs1 trillion in remittances to Pakistan,” he added.
The minister also credited overseas Pakistanis for being the main reason for Pakistan’s growth.
“PML-N and PPP want to keep overseas Pakistanis out of the election process,” alleged Chaudhry, accusing the two parties of trying to ensure overseas Pakistanis didn’t get the right to vote.
The information minister said overseas Pakistanis do not trust Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, adding that they had complete trust in Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Chaudhry criticises ECP
Chaudhry also slammed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for objecting to the election bill and said that the ECP cannot raise questions over the Parliament’s decisions, noting that the commission’s job is to implement the law approved by the Parliament.
“If someone wants to do politics then they must leave ECP and form a political party. Parliament is supreme, ECP should respect the privileges of the Parliament,” said Chaudhry.
The MNA also stated that it is not the ECP’s job to decide the process for elections and said that the ECP should make arrangements for electronic voting.
“We possess the ability to develop electronic voting machines,” said Chaudhry.
‘Parliamentary leaders should sit with the govt on electoral reforms’
The minister also chided former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on the issue of electoral reforms.
“Parliamentary leaders should sit with us and discuss electoral reforms. People in the Parliament should talk about electoral reforms,” stressed the information minister.
Cabinet approves import of wheat
The information minister also announced the series of decisions taken by the federal cabinet in today’s meeting.
Chaudhry said that the cabinet has approved the import of another 1 million metric tonnes of wheat and added that the government had to approve the import of wheat even though Pakistan had a “record production” of wheat this year due to the ballooning population.
The information minister said that a new law is being introduced to help the government take back government-owned properties.
“Railways, abandoned waqf properties and other federal agencies will be able to reclaim their lands through this law,” said Chaudhry.
Among other decisions, the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Aslam Khan as the new PIA chairman and Asim Riaz as the Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan’s (DRAP) CEO for three months
Chaudhry also announced that a cabinet sub-committee on NGOs has also been formed.