ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan Monday said the vote was a constitutional right of Pakistan nationals residing abroad and the government will ensure the implementation of a 2018 Supreme Court ruling directing the same.
The judgement was issued by a three-judge bench headed by then-Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on a set of petitions filed by then-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan and others, seeking voting rights for expatriates.
“Constitution gives overseas nationals right to vote and present government
was committed to facilitating them while the opposition is still trying to keep them away from voting,” Awan said while addressing a press conference along with Minister of State on Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government believed in the supremacy of constitution and rule of law while National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif wanted to deprive foreign nationals of their right to vote.
He asked Sharif to focus on the supremacy of parliament for legislation and respect its sanctity.
Awan said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president had denied the Parliament its supremacy while the government desired to carry forward all matters through legislation.
The electoral and judicial reforms were top priority of the government, he added.
He said the government had always shown maturity over bringing transparency in the election process through the use of electronic voting machines but it was unfortunate that the opposition parties, who wanted to maintain the status quo, were not in favour of a transparent election.
Awan said the opposition parties should not mock the constitution and avoid disrespecting the sacred document, questioning how can Sharif deprive 10 million-strong diaspora of their right to vote?
When asked, he said deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif must surrender himself before the law since he was a convict. He is an absconder and on return to Pakistan, will face prison, he said.
Criticising the former prime minister, he said the convicts, and residing abroad, become [Muttahida Qaumi Movement founder] Altaf Hussain not [former South Africa president] Nelson Mandela.
‘SHEHBAZ LOST MORAL GROUND TO REMAIN OPP LEADER’:
Speaking on the occasion, Habib said Sharif had lost moral high ground to continue as opposition leader in the House after his failure to bring back from London his absconding brother.
Sharif, who guaranteed Nawaz’s return, should not bother the members of the House with his hours-long speeches on rule of law since the court had dismissed Nawaz’s appeals for being fugitive in the Avenfield House and Al-Azizia Steel Mills references.
He said the statement of PML-N leader Maryam Safdar, who said that her father would return only if he is not sent to prison, had fully exposed the “duplicity and treachery” of the Sharif family.
“There is a big difference between words and deeds of the entire Sharif family as on the one side, the uncle [Shehbaz] gave a guarantee for the return of his brother, while on the other side, now his niece [Maryam] is seeking the NRO to help her father escape the prison,” he said, observing the way Nawaz was spending his time in London, it appeared that he had fully recovered.
The minister asked the PML-N to accept and implement the decision of the court which had dismissed Nawaz’s appeals and restored his conviction in the two references.
He reminded the PML-N that this was the same court that allowed the former premier to travel abroad on medical grounds for eight weeks, temporarily suspending his conviction in the case.
“The entire nation knows that Nawaz was convicted after his free and fair trial, but in return, what came to the fore were ‘Qatari letter’ and a ‘fake trust deeds’,” he said, regretting that the Sharif family did not even have any documents for the “palaces” in London wherein Nawaz was currently residing.
Habib said he wanted to tell Nawaz that by sitting in London, he could only become Altaf Hussain who did not obey the law and respect institutions. “You cannot become Nelson Mandela by doing politics from London,” he added.
“It is up to you now that whether you become Altaf Hussain No. 2 or come back to the country and return the looted money,” he said.
This showed that the struggle of the Sharif family was only aimed at saving their looted money and it appeared that they would go to any extent for the purpose, he added.
“They [Sharif family] have nothing to do with the public welfare, electoral reforms, free and fair elections in the country,” he said, adding they just desired to get back their rule which was based on the pattern of “Mughal dynasty”.
He said Prime Minister Imran will not let them do such a thing at any cost, adding he was the only leader in the country’s history who brought his money earned abroad back to the country through formal banking channels and then later declared by the apex court as the righteous and honest person for submitting money trail.
Therefore, unlike the opposition leaders, he held high moral ground, he said.
