A joint meeting has been called to address the polling problem.
It is anticipated that the federal cabinet will provide the election report to parliament today.
The federal government, which is led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), is anticipated to present a summary regarding the implementation of the Supreme Court’s April 4 decision regarding the elections for the Punjab Assembly before parliament, whose joint session will take place at 4pm today (Monday).
According to certain federal ministers, a second federal cabinet meeting will likely be convened at 10 am to assess the government’s stance on the matter and to finalise the summary before the parliament’s session.
In order to discuss the controversy surrounding the Supreme Court’s March 1 order and to review whether the Supreme Court rejected the suo motu case regarding the delay in the announcement of elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) by a vote of 4 to 3 or accepted it by a vote of 3 to 2, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with his cabinet on Sunday in the provincial capital of Punjab, according to a statement.
It said, “[The cabinet] also thoroughly studied the verdict of the four honourable judges.”
The resolution voted by the National Assembly on April 6 was discussed by the government in order to determine its legal viability. The lower house of parliament requested in the resolution that the prime minister and his cabinet not carry out the Supreme Court’s April 4 directive to hold elections in Punjab on May 14.
The Federal Minister for Law, Senator Azam Nazir Tarar, gave a presentation during the meeting on different legal and constitutional matters and responded to questions from the cabinet members, per the statement.
The cabinet unanimously instructed the Ministry of Finance to create a summary in conjunction with the Ministry of Law in line with the protocol and regulations to get direction from the parliament in this subject after carefully considering all factors and in-depth consultation.
The cabinet will be shown this summary today. The future strategy of the government will also be decided during the conference.
According to Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb in an interview with The Express Tribune, the finance ministry will present the summary to inform the government about the execution of all court orders. She added that because there are multiple orders pending, each one will have financial repercussions.
When asked if the government was ready for contempt of court charges in the event that the SC’s April 4 ruling was not carried out using the parliament as a shield, the information minister questioned how the government could commit contempt of court when there are two conflicting SC decisions.
She stated that after being given to the cabinet for approval, the summary being developed by the finance and law ministries will then be presented before parliament.
She said that the actions of the parliament will be determined by their collective wisdom when asked what consent the government wanted to seek from the parliament given that there was no serious resistance to any action.
Marriyum stressed, however, that there was no agenda for the cabinet meeting on Monday.
The problem of allocating funding to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to organise elections in the provinces of Punjab and K-P would be presented to the parliament for review, according to State Minister Hashim Notezai in a statement to The Express Tribune.
“The parliament is the highest institution and is authorised by law to comment on the matter. The country’s economic status will also be disclosed to the parliament so that it may make an educated judgement.
He said, “That will be determined in parliament tomorrow.” when asked if the government has made the decision to withhold funding from the ECP.
Speaking in terms of the cabinet meeting, he stated that the cabinet also went through the conversations that had taken place at the most recent National Security Committee (NSC) meeting.
The country’s civil and military leadership essentially filed a charge-sheet against the previous administration and the establishment for enabling militants to regroup when the NSC agreed to start a thorough campaign against terrorists on April 7.
A conversation with a few federal ministers suggested that the administration will likely argue its case before parliament in order to postpone the Punjab elections by obstructing the release of funds to the ECP in accordance with Supreme Court directives.
According to a federal minister from an allying party, it appeared that the administration wanted the parliament to endorse its choice to postpone elections in Punjab and the K-P.
When asked if the administration had made a decision to violate the court’s orders, he responded, “Not necessarily. The administration will make an effort to avoid being held in contempt of court and to uphold the law.
During the cabinet meeting, Special Assistant to the PM Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan spoke with the media and referenced the SC’s March 1 judgement, saying there were two SC rulings on the same matter.
“So what is the actual court order as I am a lawyer but cannot comprehend this. The situation has become more complex as a result of Judge Athar Minallah’s note, he claimed.
He reiterated the government’s stance on the subject of elections, saying that in their opinion, polls should be held concurrently across the nation under a caretaker regime.
“There are additional legal provisions that need be followed in addition to having elections within 90 days.”
The view of the parliament and the government on the matter is that everything will be done in accordance with the law, he responded to a query regarding providing funding to the ECP.
Joint session of Parliament
Senator Azam Nazir Tarar, Minister of Law and Justice, will present a motion for the Supreme Court (Practice and Process) Bill, 2023, which would set certain norms and practises for the top court, at today’s joint session of the legislature.
President Arif Alvi remitted the bill in accordance with Clause 6 of Article 75 of the Constitution.
The parliamentary affairs minister is set to deliver seven resolutions at the joint session to raise awareness of and find consensus on important national problems related to law and order, terrorism, economic policy, Jammu and Kashmir, and foreign policy.
