Dual voting rights for Kashmiris living in Pakistan

The Dawn newspaper in Islamabad reports that around half a million new names will be added to the Pakistan Election Commission voter list. The Election Commission has acknowledged the dual voting rights of Kashmiris living in Pakistan.

The Election Commission has ordered the enrollment of the citizens of Azad Jammu and Kashmir who are living in Pakistan and possess Computerized National Identity Card (CNICs) issued by the National Database and Registration Authority. The Commission accepts the application of these citizens and has ordered provincial election commissioners to issue instructions to the enumerators/verifying officers and AROs to enroll the citizens of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on the fresh electoral rolls whose process is still in continuation provided they fulfill the conditions of Section 6 and 7 of the Electoral Rolls Act (1974).

The proposal to grant dual voting rights to the Kashmiris was under consideration for months while legal advice was being reviewed. The Law Ministry said that Kashmiris residing in Pakistan had the right of dual registration to vote in the state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and in only one electoral area in Pakistan provided that they fulfill legal requirements and that the cards named only one address (permanent or temporary) in Pakistan. The matter was discussed in light of the Constitution. Article 257 provides that when the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir decided to accede to Pakistan, the relationship between Pakistan and the state shall be determined in accordance with the wishes of the people of that state.

Martina Nicolls is the author of “Kashmir on a Knife-Edge”

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