Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday directed government officials to prepare a feasibility report on electronic voting to end corruption in elections as seen in the recent Senate polls.
Addressing a meeting of the federal cabinet, the prime minister said that all necessary actions would be taken to end corruption in elections as witnessed in the recent Senate polls. He said that electronic voting is essential to curb corruption and ensure transparency in the next general elections. “We want next general elections to be fair and transparent and thus want to initiate the e-voting process well ahead of time,” he said.
The prime minister also directed the government to work out the details for the purchase of electronic voting machines (EVMs). He also directed officials to share regular updates with him on the progress of the project. He said the introduction of online voting for overseas Pakistanis was also a matter of priority. “Senate elections exposed how political leaders use money to buy votes,” he said.
Imran Khan said politicians including Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, through money laundering, transferred the national wealth to their bank accounts abroad. He mentioned a report of the Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) which revealed that that $1 trillion was taken out each year from the poor countries and was shifted to developed states. Presently, he said, $7 trillion of the stolen assets were parked in these safe havens, causing irreparable loss to developing countries like Pakistan.
The prime minister said money laundering severely weakens a country’s institutions. He said during past tenures, the ruling parties launched projects with mega kickbacks and resultantly, the common man paid the price in the form of inflation and heavy loans. “Such politicians normalize corruption in a society, bribe media houses and remove checks and balances to ease their money-laundering chain,” he said.
He said a society that set such standards of corruption faced an ethical downfall, adding “a nation gets destroyed when it loses the ability to ensure socio-economic justice.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday welcomed senator-elect from Balochistan Abdul Qadir into the PTI fold.
Abdul Qadir was elected as an independent candidate from Balochistan on March 3 polls. He called on the prime minister today and reposed confidence in his leadership. Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak and PTI chief organiser Saifullah Niazi were also present in the meeting.
Abdul Qadir was the independent candidate for the Senate election with the joint support of PTI and the Balochistan Awami Party. The local PTI chapters had revolted against the central party leadership for awarding the Senate ticket to Qadir after which the decision was taken back and the ticket was given to Syed Zahoor Agha, who later withdrew from the race.
