ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court on Tuesday asked the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to move a fresh petition for the grant of right of vote to overseas Pakistanis and said it was known to all what role the party, which received most of the donations from Pakistani expatriates, played in parliament when the Elections Act 2017 was placed before it.

“The PTI has the cheek to stand before us and agitate for the right of vote,” observed Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar while hearing a case in which petitioners took the plea that the denial of right to participate in the democratic process by overseas Pakistanis would mean a refusal by the government to carry out its constitutional obligation. The PTI had moved an application to become a party in the case.

Heading a three-judge bench, the chief justice said the judiciary would see whether it was just an eyewash or the PTI was really endeavouring for the grant of right of vote to overseas Pakistanis and how much the party had struggled for the realisation of that goal.

Apparently the chief justice was referring to the reports that the PTI had protested when Section 94 of the Election Acts 2017 had been taken up in parliament, but eventually the party voted in its favour.

Top ECP official tells apex court results of recent mock exercises in some embassies involving FO and other stakeholders were not very encouraging

Section 94 asks the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct pilot projects for voting by overseas Pakistanis in by-elections to ascertain technical efficacy, secrecy, security and financial feasibility of such voting. The commission will also share the results with the government, which will lay the report before parliament within 15 days from the commencement of its session.

After reading the section, the chief justice observed that perhaps the right of vote to overseas Pakistanis had been restricted only to by-elections as the same right had not been conferred for general elections.

The case was moved by a group of citizens represented by Mohammad Dawood Ghazanvi, Farhat Javed and others while taking up the plea that the denial of right to participate in the democratic process by overseas Pakistanis would mean a refusal by the government to carry out its constitutional obligation. The petition highlighted that Pakistani expatriates considered Pakistan as their homeland and contributed nearly $18 billion to its economy every year through remittances.

The SC also summoned Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad to explain what measures the commission had taken in this regard in the light of the act.

During the recent by-elections, the secretary said, the commission had conducted several mock exercises in some embassies by involving the Foreign Office and other stakeholders but the results were not very encouraging.

The chief justice said it seemed that the 2013 judgement in the Chaudhry Nasir Iqbal case in which the ECP was issued directives by the apex court to make all possible efforts so that the expatriates could also participate in general elections had not been given attention. He observed that there must be some mechanism for this.

Decision to be taken by parliament

The court had already issued directives and it was up to the legislature to bring legislation for the implementation of the court directives, the chief justice said, adding that overseas Pakistanis should be told in clear terms whether the government was awarding them the right to vote or not. “Let parliament tell them in black and white whether they have the right or they don’t,” the chief justice said.

The chief justice asked Mr Mansoor to submit a fresh petition along with the debates in parliament and the court would fix the same for Tuesday next. The chief justice also asked the senior counsel to provide copies in advance to whatever respondents he wished to make and to consider that the court had already issued notices to them. The SC also issued notices to the interior ministry, Nadra and the ECP for the next week.

The chief justice also asked the ECP secretary if any exercise had been carried out for the upcoming by-elections in the constituency NA-154 Lodhran from where PTI secretary general Jahangir Khan Tareen was disqualified. The secretary said no such mechanism was in place in the constituency.

Referring to the recent judgement in the Imran Khan case, the chief justice emphasised that the apex court had ensured the independence of the commission in that judgement. He said a great responsibility to conduct free and fair elections was upon the secretary while the Supreme Court was there to support the commission. The secretary claimed that the commission would never let the nation down.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2018