The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has declared that providing open e-voting access to overseas Pakistanis is not secure, citing serious hacking risks.
During a Supreme Court hearing on Friday, the ECP lawyer informed the court that e-voting was conducted in 35 constituencies, and a report on the pilot project has already been submitted to the Senate committee.
ECP’s Director of IT warned the court that large-scale e-voting could face cyberattacks, revealing that a serious hacking attempt was made on the pilot project, lasting one to three hours. He further stated that hackers from India, Israel, and the Philippines tried to breach the system, increasing security concerns.
In response, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar questioned why the ECP was so afraid of e-voting, asking, "If hacking is a threat, then what is the firewall doing?" He further remarked, "If the electoral process is vulnerable to hacking, the entire system is at risk."
The ECP lawyer defended their stance, stating that international experts were hired for the e-voting project, and all think tanks opposed its implementation. However, Justice Mazhar countered, "Everything operates online these days."
Meanwhile, PTI founder’s lawyer, Uzair Bhandari, expressed mistrust in the ECP, claiming, "All overseas Pakistanis are my voters, and that’s why they are being denied their right to vote."
Justice Jamal Mandokhail advised PTI’s legal team to take their concerns to Parliament, as the ECP’s report has already been submitted there. However, lawyer Arif Chaudhry responded, "Parliament has made the law; now the Supreme Court must decide." To this, Justice Mandokhail sarcastically remarked, "Then let’s just shut down Parliament."
Arif Chaudhry fired back, claiming that efforts were being made "to shut down the Supreme Court instead of Parliament." Justice Mandokhail then raised a critical question: "If the e-voting system fails, will the Supreme Court be held responsible?"
The court later ordered the ECP to provide all reports to the concerned parties and adjourned the hearing indefinitely.
Reporter Amanat Gishkori