Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry urged the ECP to issue tender for the EVMs, on Tuesday.
The minister stated that the government is ready to provide Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
While briefing the media on the federal cabinet meeting, chaired by PM Imran Khan, he stated that the ECP should issue a tender carrying all the requirements and conditions needed for holding the next general elections through EVMs.
Fawad Ch, while referring to the correspondence between the ECP and the ministry of science and technology, stated that the government has informed the electoral body that the demonstration of the developed prototype of EVM was given to the commission on April 17 and later to the secretary ECP on November 15. “To our understanding, ECP has approved the machines and the science ministry is ready to supply the machines,” he added.
It is pertinent to note that the Cabinet was given a detailed briefing on the schedule regarding delivery and use of EVMs at all polling stations in the country and training of staff.
The cabinet expressed its firm resolve to hold the next elections through EVMs after the implementation of laws regarding electronic voting machines and voting rights to overseas Pakistanis.
In this regard, Chaudhry stated that “if the elections are not held through EVMs then the government would not be able to release funds to ECP because the law permits holding elections only via EVM”
The minister revealed that roughly Rs27 billion rupees would be required for holding the next general elections, saying 400,000 machines with 800,000 voting pads would be enough to hold the provincial and national assembly elections in 2023. Keeping roughly 400,000 polling booths in the country in view, he had said, the ECP says that 800,000 EVMs would be needed to hold the next general elections.
In this regard, the cabinet welcomed the ECP’s decision to use EVMs in the local body elections in Islamabad, on Tuesday.
Later, while replying to a question, the minister said that obtaining 4,000 machines was not a problem for ECP as it would get the machines as soon as it issues a tender.
Gwadar protests
On the issue of Gwadar protests, the minister stated that “the issue of Gwadar protest also came into discussion during the cabinet meeting. On the directives of the Prime Minister, the two ministers will visit Gwadar and will address the grievances of the people of the coastal city”
He said that PM Khan had already taken notice of the matter and the demands of protesters were being considered with seriousness.
He further revealed that “one of their demands is the availability of clean drinkable water. The federal government has approved multi-billion rupees projects for the provision of drinkable water in Gwadar. We are spending more on water projects in Gwadar than we did in Islamabad,” adding that out of Rs700 billion approved for southern Balochistan, a whopping Rs560 billion will be provided by the federal government.
“If the issues of Balochistan are not being resolved even after injecting so much money, then there is a need of a reassessment to identify the bottlenecks in the implementation of the projects,” Fawad stated.
Gas crisis
Meanwhile, on the on-going gas crisis in the country, the information minister said that the gas resources were depleting fast and Pakistan will have no gas in coming years. Reiterating what he had said in a previous post-cabinet press briefing, Fawad said that gas was depleting by 9 per cent every year for the last two years.
Gas was available to only 22 per cent people living in cities while the burden was being borne by 78 per cent people in other parts of the country who use LPG, coal and other means, he said. “People getting gas at cheaper rates in big cities should change their habits… this trend will not continue for long,” he maintained.
Despite the gas shortage, he claimed, the issue of fertilizer was resolved in the best possible way and history’s biggest production of urea – 33 million metric ton – was record in PTI’s tenure. He added that the urea prices have fallen by 10 per cent, insisting that there was no shortage of urea in the country at present.
The cabinet decided that to ensure supply of urea fertilizer for Rabi crop in the country, the Sui Northern Gas Company (SSGC) will supply gas to urea plants by January 2022; gas supply to Pak Arab and Fatima Fertilizer Plants will be ensured; and the process of importing additional 50,000 tons of urea should be completed expeditiously. The cabinet was also informed that price of urea per sack in Pakistan is about Rs1,864 while in other countries it was being sold at Rs10,000 per sack.
Afghan visas
On the basis of humanitarian grounds, the cabinet decided that the process of obtaining Pakistani visas for Afghans has been further eased and after this decision, the security clearance required for obtaining a visa has been reduced from 30 days to 15 days.
The meeting also decided to further facilitate the registration process of international NGOs working for the welfare and assistance of the Afghan people. Facility for Afghans immigrating to other countries through Pakistan has been extended for another 60 days. Fawad said, adding the facility includes travel by land and air routes.
Pakistan-Central Asia relations
The cabinet approved amendment in bilateral air route between Pakistan and Tajikistan, saying the decision will reduce both air distance and travel costs. The cabinet also allowed Kazakh Air Company (SCAT) to operate in Pakistan to start air travel between Pakistan and Kazakhstan, noting that decision will enable direct air travel between the two countries and help boost bilateral trade.
To promote trade between Pakistan and Central Asian countries, the cabinet directed the Aviation Division to start work on finalising air travel agreements with all Central Asian countries.
It also approved amendment to air travel agreement between Pakistan and Iraq.
In addition, the cabinet approved extension of period for exchange of old Pakistani 10, 50, 100 and 1,000 currency notes till December 31, 2022.
SSRC report
Fawad said that the cabinet mulled over the Sugar Sector Reforms Committee’s report and decided that a “public debate” would be held for three weeks for taking input from different stakeholders on sugar sector reforms, including the proposal that the sector should be deregulated and the government should only keep an eye on the crushing season.
To the questions about the news reports stating that the cabinet was expected to discuss mini-budget and legislation for curbing the practice of buying and selling votes in the Senate elections, Chaudhry replied that both the issues were not discussed in the cabinet meeting.
Inflation
Finance Adviser Shaukat Tarin presented a comparative review of the prices of essential commodities to the cabinet, saying the weekly inflation rate has come down by 0.07%; prices of sugar, flour and household items have decreased; collectively, prices of nine items decreased; and prices of 23 items remained stable.
The cabinet was informed that apart from the prices of Banaspati Ghee and tea leaves in the region, prices of all other essential items were lower in Pakistan.
Concerns were raised over higher prices of essential commodities in Sindh including flour, sugar, milk, ghee and pulses.
OGRA’s annual report
OGRA’s annual report for the year 2019-20 was presented to the Cabinet.
The report carries recommendations regarding the performance of Pakistan’s petroleum industry, production, supply and demand and improvement of the petroleum industry. The Cabinet was informed that at present there is a 27-days stock of petrol and diesel; 75 Exploration licenses generated revenue of Rs29 billion; safety standards for LPG cylinders are being improved and a public awareness campaign is underway.
Also, it was told, 10 licenses were issued to LPG companies; an audit is being carried out to prevent gas theft; and action is being taken against those selling petrol at illegal petrol pumps and in plastic containers.
Omicron in Pakistan
Meanwhile, SAPM Dr Faisal Sultan gave a briefing on the preventive measures regarding the new type of coronavirus variant, Omicron. The cabinet emphasised on the need to increase vaccinations, maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. The cabinet was informed that at present 20 million people in Pakistan have not been vaccinated with the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
The cabinet urged all such citizens to take the second dose as soon as possible to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The meeting was also informed that immunity increases 17-folds after the second dose of vaccine.
