‘No legislation under consideration’: Ahsan Iqbal terms reports of increasing voting age from 18 to 25 ‘baseless’

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday termed reports regarding raising the voting age in Pakistan from 18 to 25 as “baseless”, saying there was “no such legislation under consideration”.

There is an emerging political discussion in the country about raising the voting age from 18 to 25. While no formal bill has been tabled yet, the idea is being floated through media commentary, social media narratives, and informal political signalling.

On Wednesday, five senior PTI leaders incarcerated at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat opposed any change in the voting age, asking whether those “operating in the dark” were afraid of the youth’s power.

In a post on the social media platform X, Iqbal said, “Reports of increasing voters’ age from 18 years to 25 years are baseless. There is no such legislation under consideration.”

In the video accompanying the post, the minister said, “We have confidence in our youth and we can’t even think of depriving them of the right to vote.”

“These [reports] are part of [our] opponents’ disinformation campaign,” the minister added.

Iqbal further reiterated that there were no such plans to increase the voting age, nor was the government intending to table any legislation in the upcoming joint session, which is scheduled for Friday.

“Pakistan’s youth are our asset and they are capable of deciding what is best for the country’s future,” he said.

“Therefore, I strongly refute this as all the reports are mere rumours,” he said.

In the letter which emerged on Wednesday, PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and Omar Sarfraz Cheema had termed apotential move of raising the voting age “a clear sign of fearing the power of informed conscience”.

They said the youth’s insight, perception, decision-power and collective wisdom was the nation’s asset and could be used to do wonders in the country. The PTI leaders had also expressed the hope that all political parties in the country, particularly the PML-N and the PPP, would not support any fear-driven mindset to suppress the youth’s right to vote.