A NUMBER of letters, with numerous proposals for electoral reforms, have appeared in these columns. I support almost all these proposals. The two that have been included in almost all the proposals are the bio-electronic casting of votes and the inclusion of Pakistanis living abroad.

If this were done in the May 2013 general elections, we wouldn’t have been in the present quagmire. We may run out of time if work on particularly these two proposals does not start immediately.

I happened to be abroad when I took a flight for Karachi between the night of May 10 and 11, 2013, and was lucky to cast my vote for the first time in an election in 67 years of my life. It was a pleasant surprise for me to see at least six youngsters also travelling from Bahrain to Karachi on the same flight and for the same reason.

There is, therefore, a need for giving this task to the present Election Commission of Pakistan or the one to be reconstituted on a war footing so that we are also able to be a part of the election process of our dear motherland.

Abdul Qayyum Khan

Bahrain

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2014