The Supreme Court has raised concerns over the security of e-voting for overseas Pakistanis after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) declared the system unsafe.
During the hearing on Friday, the court directed the ECP to provide relevant reports to all parties and adjourned the hearing indefinitely. A five-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard the case regarding voting rights for overseas Pakistanis.
The ECP’s lawyer informed the court that e-voting was conducted in 35 constituencies as part of a pilot project, and the report was submitted to the Senate committee. "The services of international experts were hired to develop e-voting," he added.
However, the Election Commission’s IT director revealed that the system faced a serious cyberattack for one to three hours, raising concerns about hacking through large-scale e-voting.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar questioned the vulnerabilities in the system, asking, “If there is such a big risk, then what does the firewall do?” He warned that if hacking could occur, the entire electoral system could be compromised.
The ECP’s lawyer added that all senators had opposed e-voting due to security concerns.
The IT director further disclosed that hacking attempts were made from India, Israel, and the Philippines during the pilot project. He emphasized that opening e-voting access to all overseas Pakistanis could significantly increase the risk of cyberattacks.
The PTI founder’s lawyer, Uzair Bhandari, told the court they did not trust the Election Commission. He also accused the ECP of deliberately preventing overseas Pakistanis from voting. “Overseas Pakistanis are not being allowed to vote because they are all PTI voters,” he claimed. However, Justice Musarat Hilali rejected this assertion, saying, “That is not the case.”
Justice Jamal Mandokhel reminded the petitioners that the Election Commission’s report had already been submitted to parliament. “You should also go to parliament. If the e-system fails, will the Supreme Court be held responsible?” he remarked.
Lawyer Arif Chaudhry argued that parliament had legislated, and now the Supreme Court had to decide. "Then close the parliament," Justice Mandokhel remarked. The lawyer said there was an attempt to shut down the Supreme Court to make parliament functional.
The court directed the Election Commission to provide copies of the reports to the parties concerned, adjourning the hearing indefinitely. The court also sought written responses from NADRA and the Election Commission, instructing them to provide details on steps taken so far for overseas voting within two weeks.
PTI Founder Imran Khan and Sheikh Rashid had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking voting rights for overseas Pakistanis. Lawyer Dawood Ghaznavi also filed a similar petition.
