Stealing the future

IN a recent television interview, Rana Sanaullah said the government was considering raising the voting age to 25 as part of its deliberations on moving the 28th constitutional amendment. He explained that the proposal aims to align the voting age with the minimum age required to contest elections, which is 25. This is not the first time the prime minister’s adviser on political and public affairs and a senior figure of the ruling party has said this. In January he made a similar assertion. Then, as now, his claims were swiftly denied by other ministers, who said they were only “rumours” and “disinformation”, which was an odd way to counter their senior colleague’s pronouncement. Sanaullah did, however, say that while the proposal was being discussed it was not an “official party position” for now. Significantly, he added that if consensus emerges on the idea, it could be implemented. Whether or not this was a trial balloon to test public opinion, Sanaullah’s remarks reflect a certain mindset, which is why they need to be considered, irrespective of official denials that such a move is in the offing. This is especially so as this government has done whatever it can to perpetuate itself in power and aggrandise its power. Its approach to governance has been the antithesis of inclusive rule. Instead, the country has witnessed democratic regression, crackdowns on the opposition, curbs on the media and a slide into authoritarianism. Against this backdrop, the political motive behind the proposal to raise the voting age becomes even more transparent. The voting age in Pakistan was lowered from 25 to 18 in 2002. This brought it in line with the global standard as the vast majority of countries have set the voting age at 18 years. Some countries have even lowered it to 16. No country in modern times has ever raised the voting age. The general argument for fixing the voting age at 18 is that if 18-year olds can be sent to fight for their country, acquire a driving licence an