80,000 Pak prisoners denied right to vote in upcoming election
Pakistan general election is around the corner and political candidates have been trying for that extra votes. But, 80,000 prisoners across the country have been denied the 'right and facility' to vote.
Jail manual clearly states that prisoners have the right to take part in the electoral process and casting vote through postal ballots should be arranged by the prison administration. But, till now there have been no arrangements to make sure the prisoners can vote.
Will it be Easy ??? Nope..
— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) July 19, 2018
Will it Worth it ??? Absolutely..
Enough is Enough..Time to bring Change #PAKISTAN All the Best in the upcoming elections Skipper,,We are all behind you @ImranKhanPTI
The Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul wishes to inform all concerned that Chaman and Kharlachi border crossing points will remain closed on 24th & 25th July 2018 due to Parliamentary elections in Pakistan.
— PakEmbKabul (@PakEmbKabul) July 20, 2018
Sources shared Punjab alone has 49,000 prisoners, including 1,000 women across 40 different prisons in the province. There are 19,000 prisoners in Sindh alone. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, some 10,050 prisoners including 220 women are kept in 23 prisons. In Balochistan, there are some 2,100 prisoners including 20 women in 11 prisons across the province.
Sindh Nusrat Mangan, the former Inspector General said,"Inmates were not given the facility to vote during the 2013 elections. Mere 10 prisoners cast their vote in the 2008 elections," Mangan also added that the right to vote is the basic.
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First published: 20 July 2018, 16:43 IST