Sh Rashid moves SC against amendments in election laws

ISLAMABAD - Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Wednesday approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan and requested it to direct the federal government and the Election Commission of Pakistan to take necessary steps so overseas Pakistanis may cast their vote in the general elections. In his petition, he further prayed that the Court may declare the amendment in section 94 of the Elections Act, 2017 (Act XXXIII of 2017) vide section 3 of the Elections (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act X of 2022) as unconstitutional and void ab initio. In this regard, the former federal minister filed a petition before the apex court under Article 184(3) of Constitution and cited secretaries Cabinet Division, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Ministry of Law & Justice and Election Commission of Pakistan as respondents. He stated that currently, the numeric strength of overseas Pakistanis is approximately 9 million, constituting the 6th largest in the world. The petitioner submitted that overseas Pakistanis indisputably are part and parcel of the Electoral College or electorate. However, they have been denied the right to vote in the general elections and local bodies elections in one way or the other since long. He stated that in an attempt to bring the overseas Pakistanis into mainstream politics, efforts were being made. As back as in the year 1993, the matter was referred to the government by this august Court in constitutional petition 26 of 1993 but nothing substantial occurred thereafter.