Expatriates' right to vote: SC asks Nadra chief to give presentation to MPs

Appreciating the efforts of Nadra chairman and his team for preparing software for the voting of overseas Pakistanis, Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar directed them to give presentation to the parliamentarians and the representatives of political parties in the apex court auditorium on Thursday (tomorrow).
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, resumed hearing of a suo motu case regarding right to vote to Pakistanis living abroad. The Chief Justice said it is the desire of this court that overseas Pakistanis could also cast vote in the upcoming general election 2018.
Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to take all the political parties into confidence in order to make possible improvement in the software, developed for enabling the overseas Pakistanis to cast their votes through internet in the general election.
The court directed that six members each form National Assembly and Senate as well as two members from each political party should reach the apex court auditorium hall on Thursday and get briefing from National Database and Registration Authority at 3:30pm.
A team of National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) headed by its Chairman Usman Y Mobin gave a detailed presentation to Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar and Justice Umer Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan about casting of vote by overseas Pakistanis in the general elections 2018.
The Nadra team briefed the members of the bench in detail about the way forward to empower overseas Pakistanis with the ability to cast their vote in general election through internet. They apprised the judges that preliminary software has been developed to extend electronic voting facility to overseas Pakistanis in general election.
The judges observed that this development may be shared with all other stakeholders including Election Commission of Pakistan and the parliamentarians so that the milestone of extending right of vote to overseas Pakistanis through internet may be achieved in time.