The PTI-led government praised the opposition’s willingness to talk about election changes with the government on Tuesday, only days after a joint committee of both chambers was created to look into the issue.
Fawad Chaudhry, the Federal Minister for Information, said a post-cabinet news conference in Islamabad that the committee should go forward and not lose time in resolving the issue.
The electronic voting machine EVM and i-voting, according to the information minister, are critical components of the changes. “It will be an injustice to them if we remove overseas Pakistanis from the voting process
According to Chaudhry, During the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan, and others in charge of parliamentary affairs to discuss these two elements — EVMs and i-voting — as a necessity with the opposition.
According to the information minister, the bulk of the fights occur when the vote count is completed, and the government has shared a study from the Philippines with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), in which 300 officials perished in clashes as the final count was completed. “This happened because the Philippines did not utilise electronic voting machines.”
The administration had bought 20 computers, according to the federal minister, and intended to utilise them in forthcoming elections.
“No existing administration in Pakistan has ever concentrated on electoral changes; it is the PTI-led government that seeks to bring them,” the minister added, noting that the incumbent regime has also launched electoral reform campaigns.
The federal minister stated that the administration will submit its agenda before a joint session of parliament and reiterated that the government is prepared to discuss election changes with the opposition.
Expansion of the visa-by-internet system
The Pakistan Online Visa System (POVS), via which the government grants e-visas, has been enlarged by the federal cabinet, according to Chaudhry, who noted that it currently serves 191 countries, up from 50 previously.
“The goal is to encourage tourism and business,” the information minister explained, “and via this, nationals from 191 countries will be able to obtain Pakistani visas while still at home.”
Observing the moon in private
Furthermore, new regulation on moon sightings has been enacted, with the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee banning private moon sightings, according to Chaudhry. “Only the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee’s or the government’s statements shall be regarded definitive and binding.”
The information minister said that in addition to the federal government, provincial and district moon sighting committees would be formed, with officials from SUPARCO, the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Science and Technology being included in the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.
Indonesia is getting aid.
As a goodwill gesture, the federal cabinet has authorised humanitarian help for Indonesia, according to Chaudhry, a country that has stood solidly by Pakistan. “This is a nice gesture while they fight the coronavirus.”
Indices of the economy
Foreign remittances increased by $5.4 billion, revenue collection increased by Rs858 billion in the first two months of the fiscal year, agriculture, manufacturing, and the services sector all saw increases, and foreign exchange reserves reached a new high of $27.2 billion, while exports increased by $4.6 billion, according to the economic indicators presented to the cabinet.
The case of Shahbaz in the United Kingdom
In response to a query, the information minister stated that if Shahbaz Sharif’s case is tried on a daily basis and on merit, he will “soon be in jail.”
The information minister hoped that the Shahbaz issue would be resolved as soon as possible so that Pakistanis could “finally get rid of” the Sharif family.
Chaudhry’s comments came a day after a British court allowed the Opposition leader’s bank accounts and those of his son, Suleman Sharif, to be unfrozen.
