Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday denied reports that the government was considering raising the minimum voting age from 18 to 25, calling the claims “baseless” and part of a disinformation campaign.
In a message posted on his X account, the minister said citizens were asking if such a measure was being considered. “I want to make it clear that no proposals are being considered and no legislation is being introduced to raise the voting age,” he said.
Iqbal stressed that the government had faith in the youth of Pakistan and could not imagine depriving them of their constitutional right to vote. He accused the opposition of spreading false narratives to create controversy and remain politically relevant, saying such tactics were aimed at misleading the public.
Reiterating the government’s position, he said no proposal was under consideration and no legislation was being discussed in a joint session of Parliament to increase the voting age.
“Pakistani youth are a national asset and fully capable of making informed decisions on the future of the country,” he added, while categorically rejecting the rumours.
The clarification follows the emergence of a letter written a day ago by senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders currently imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat jail, criticizing an alleged proposal to raise the voting age.
The letter was conveyed through their lawyer, Advocate Rana Mudassir Umar, and carried the names of Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mahmood-ur-Rasheed, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry and Umar Sarfraz Cheema.
In the letter, PTI leaders called the proposal regressive and compared it to the previously imposed requirement of a bachelor’s degree to contest elections, which was later withdrawn.
They question why the legal voting age should be raised when the legal age to obtain a national identity card, a driving license and to get married is 18, warning that excluding young voters would weaken democracy rather than strengthen it.
