Pakistani expats dismayed over ‘vote denial’

Pakistani expatriates are angry that their government has apparently not put in place procedures for them to participate in Saturday’s elections.
Consul General Aftab Khokhar confirmed yesterday that he has received no instructions from the Pakistan Election Commission or the Supreme Court to set up a voting center.
“We know that the national elections start next week but we have not received any orders from Islamabad. We will immediately arrange things as soon as we get instructions.”
He warned Pakistanis that they should only follow voting notices on the Pakistan Election Commission’s website. All other Internet websites offering Pakistanis the chance to vote are bogus, he added.
Arab News found a website offering overseas voting, but it had no explanation on how citizens could cast their ballots.
Pakistani expatriate Abu Adil accused his government of trying to prevent voting by overseas nationals. “The party in power does not want overseas Pakistanis to participate in the elections because it is afraid that the majority will cast their votes for another party.”
If Pakistanis could only vote through the Internet, then this would exclude millions of citizens, he added. This meant that only educated and wealthy Pakistanis could cast their votes as had “happened during the early period of British rule in India, when participation in the elections was open only for landlords, Nawabs and some VIPs,” he said.
Another Pakistani, Mansour Memon, said overseas Pakistanis had hoped that they would hear good news about voting.
“Overseas Pakistanis are an asset for the country and denying them the right to vote is a grave injustice. Pakistanis living in other countries send home billions of dollars every year which is a major source of revenue, but here our voting rights are compromised,” he said.
Zaheer Maqbool, a prominent local Pakistani, said every citizen has the right to vote, especially those living abroad in Gulf countries.
“When the Supreme Court and Election Commission ordered the government to arrange overseas voting, we were given the right to participate in the national elections. This right has now been taken away by the government,” he said.
He said websites offering overseas Pakistanis the chance to vote are not authentic.