F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Tuesday urged the opposition to submit their suggestions for electoral reforms to hold the next general elections through electronic voting system and granting the right of vote to nine million overseas Pakistanis.
Apprising media persons about the decisions taken by the Federal Cabinet, which met here with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, Fawad said Prime Minister’s Advisor on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan briefed the cabinet about the electoral reforms and electronic voting machines.
The government, he said, wanted to move forward on the electoral reforms with political consensus and the prime minister had written a letter to the National Assembly speaker to engage the opposition on the matter. The speaker, he said, had also written letters to the opposition leaders for their input on the electoral voting system but so far no reply had been given by them.
Fawad said the government could not wait for the opposition’s response indefinitely as it wanted to hold next general elections through the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and grant overseas Pakistanis the right to franchise.
Both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan peoples Party (PPP), he said, wanted to oppose the move of granting the right of vote to the expatriates as they were not their supporters. The two parties should openly express their viewpoint whether they wanted to give the vote right to the overseas Pakistanis or not, he added.
The minister said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal and Minister for Planning Asad Umar briefed the cabinet about the the latest coronavirus situation in the country.
The cabinet, he said, was informed that around 5,000 patients suffering from the deadly virus were in critical condition, which was the highest number as compared to the last two peaks of the contagion when the maximum number of serious patients remained 3,400.
He said currently Pakistan was producing 792 metric tons of oxygen to meet the requirement of COVID-19 patients. The situation in Pakistan would have different had it not increased 7,000 ventilator beds and doubled the production of oxygen during the last one year.
It was decided that the oxygen meant for the industrial sector would also be diverted to the health sector if the situation worsened, he added.
The government, Fawad said, was also considering import of oxygen from China and Iran if the need arose.
The minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed to ensure supply of essential items during the pandemic. The government was trying hard to avoid complete lockdown and that was why it was considering to announce five-day holidays for Eidul Fitr.
About anti-COVID vaccination, Fawad said so far 2 million people had been vaccinated. The vaccine was fully safe for human health, he added and urged the people to get themselves vaccinated against the virus as around one billion people, across the world, had so far been immunized against the disease.
He said 3.7 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine were available in the country and now 40 and above people were eligible for vaccination.
He appreciated the print and electronic media for creating awareness among the people to follow the Standard Operating Procedures against the pandemic.
He said the prime minister while chairing the meeting of National Coordination Committee, had observed that in case a complete lockdown were imposed, the government would have to ensure supply of the essential commodities.
The five-day Eid holidays would ease burden on the cities as the pandemic was an urban phenomena, he added.
