ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Waqas Akram Sunday criticised PMLN leader Rana Sanaullah over his proposal to raise the minimum voting age from 18 to 25 years under the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment, calling it a “panic bid”.
Rana Sanaullah, who is the Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs, suggested during a Geo News programme that voting age should be aligned with age required to contest elections in order to ensure “maturity” among voters. However, Waqas Akram described the proposal as a masterpiece of political panic disguised as deep constitutional wisdom.
“How extraordinarily convenient the same ruling elite which happily recruits 18-year-olds to defend Pakistan’s borders, allows them to marry, raise families and work in the economy, suddenly discovers these very citizens are far too immature to choose their government. One must admire such selective maturity available only when it threatens dynastic throne,” he said in response to the proposal.
“Imran Khan always believed youth possess the vision and courage to transform this nation. It is precisely this inconvenient truth that has sent the old guard into such a delightful frenzy of constitutional creativity,” he maintained.
The PTI spokesman added, “No matter what arbitrary age they come up with — 25, 30, or even 50 —youth of Pakistan will continue to vote overwhelmingly for PTI. Their support is clearly not a symptom of immaturity, but rather a most unfortunate outbreak of good sense that the status quo finds positively intolerable”.
