The issue of election funding has been referred back to parliament, and the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance has pledged to abide by “constitutionally mandated procedure” notwithstanding directives from the Supreme Court.
ISLAMABAD:
As a result of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue returning concerns pertaining to money for elections to the government on Monday, the issue of elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) remained in limbo.
The government-judiciary standoff has only increased the threat of additional political unrest as the time for interim setups in both provinces approaches the stipulated constitutional limit and as the date scheduled for Punjab elections approaches.
The Punjab election was postponed earlier this month after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) made the decision. This decision was deemed “unconstitutional” by the Supreme Court (SC), dealing a setback to the provincial government’s attempts to delay the election by claiming security concerns and the economic crisis.
The date for the provincial election in the province was also set by the three-member panel, which also included Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan. The bench was presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial.
Additionally, the federal government was required to give the ECP Rs21 billion by April 10 in funding, and the body was mandated to deliver a report on the matter by April 11.
The administration thus missed the cutoff for the money’s disbursement.
The SC continued by ordering the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to release the monies, noting that they may be made available to the ECP “immediately and within a matter of a day”.
Notably, the order had come despite the NA passing a resolution rejecting the earlier orders to hold elections as a “minority judgment,” as well as numerous other resolutions calling for general elections to be held across the nation on the same day that were hurriedly passed through the joint session of parliament, the Senate, and the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies.
Under the leadership of PML-N MP Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh, the concerned NA standing committee held a special meeting in response to mounting pressure over the ongoing delay in the disbursement of funds.
Participants at the meeting were the Federal Minister for Law, Azam Nazeer Tarar, the Minister of Commerce, Naveed Qamar, the Acting Governor of the State Bank, the Auditor General of Pakistan, the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP), Mansoor Awan, the Minister of State for Finance, Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, and representatives from the Ministry of Finance.
The committee head was upset that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar missed the key meeting, claiming that he hasn’t attended in a year and that the problem has already been brought up several times.
Elections in Punjab under the current conditions, according to committee member Barjees Tahir, would be equivalent to “causing damage” to the nation.
Tahir contended that the Supreme Court “should also amend Article 84” in reference to the provisions of supplemental and excess grants, adding sarcastically that the highest court had “destroyed the country in an attempt to amend Article 63(A)”.
How can the SC order the SBP governor to release cash, he questioned, “Releasing funds is at the discretion of the government?”
The law minister concurred, stating that it was not “in the interest of the country” to provide funds to have elections twice.
“The Constitution is extremely explicit,” Tarar remarked. “The SC orders have to be honored, but the Constitution comes first. We have sworn to uphold the Constitution. How can executives donate money while ignoring the constitution?
He questioned how the SBP workers were supposed to pay back the sum of Rs. 21 billion “should the process of providing funds later be proved to be unconstitutional”.
He emphasized that the top court’s ruling should “go to the relevant forum, as per the Constitution,” adding that the matter of the SC’s transfer of cash to the SBP “should also be referred to the parliament.”
According to AGP Awan, the federal cabinet and the NA should receive the demand from the ministry of finance in accordance with court rulings. He declared that the NA would have final permission and that everything would proceed in accordance with the Constitution.
According to the finance minister, we must abide with the law and the Constitution. The budgetary and funding regulations and laws must be carried out by the Ministry of Finance. According to him, the SBP will send the summary, which we will present to the federal cabinet.
The judiciary, legislature, and executive branch each have specific functions in the Constitution, according to the minister of trade. He claimed that “for the first time in Pakistan’s history, the right of budget and legislation is also being taken away.”
“Officers can be imprisoned for contempt of parliament if they are afraid of serving time for contempt of court,” he continued.
