Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday dismissed reports that the government was considering raising the minimum voting age from 18 to 25, calling the claims “baseless” and part of a misinformation campaign.
In a post on his X account, the minister said citizens had been asking if such a measure was being considered. “I want to be clear that there is no proposal under review, nor is there any legislation being introduced to raise the voting age,” he said.
Iqbal stressed that the government trusted 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 being considered and no legislation was being discussed in any joint session of parliament to raise the voting age.
“Pakistan’s youth are a national asset and fully capable of making informed decisions about the future of the country,” he added, categorically rejecting the rumours.
The clarification comes after the emergence of a letter a day ago written 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 his 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compared it to the previously imposed requirement of a bachelor’s degree to participate in elections, which was later withdrawn.
They questioned why the voting age should be raised when the legal age to obtain a national ID card, a driving license and get married was 18, warning that excluding young voters would weaken democracy rather than strengthen it.
