Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday tabled a bill in the National Assembly (NA) seeking the release of funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for holding elections in Punjab as ordered by the Supreme Court. Last week, the apex court had fixed May 14 as the date for the polls in the province and directed the federal government to release election funds worth Rs21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan by April 10 for elections to the assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

As the SC deadline for the release of funds approaches, the government in a federal cabinet meeting on Sunday decided to refer the matter of election funds in the Parliament. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar introduced the money bill 2023 titled “Charged Sums for General Elections of Provincial Assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bill 2023 in the National Assembly.

Speaking on this occasion, he said the government is laying this bill before the House in light of the Supreme Court’s orders to release 21 billion rupees to the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Finance Minister said this august House had also passed a resolution that apex court’s order into the suo-motu notice regarding holding elections in Punjab is a decision of 4-3 and the judgment of 3-0 is a minority decision and that should not be implemented.

He said that the Federal Cabinet, in its recent meeting, pondered over the Supreme Court’s orders and in view of this House’s resolution, has sought will of the Parliament to take a final decision regarding allocation of funds for general elections for the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The chair referred the bill to the standing committee concerned. The Finance Minister said the coalition government fully believes in the supremacy of the Parliament and rule of law and the Constitution. He said, while on the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, under a well thought out conspiracy, attempted to create a constitutional and legal crisis in the country.

He said PTI members resigned from the National Assembly and disrespected the public mandate. Besides, it organized dissolution of the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa even before the completion of their constitutional tenure. He said the sole purpose of all these tactics was to create political instability and lawlessness in Pakistan.

Ishaq Dar maintained that organizing elections is a constitutional responsibility, but it requires that polling for national and all the provincial assemblies is held simultaneously under caretaker setups. He said this will not only reduce expenditures but also ensure free, fair, and transparent elections.

Ishaq Dar recalled that the PTI regime had brought the country to the verge of default by violating the sovereign commitments made with the International Monetary Fund. He said this also harmed the credibility of Pakistan. He said the coalition government, just after coming to power, took tough decisions and saved the country from default.

The Minister said now the government is making all out efforts to bring economic stability to the country. He expressed the hope to take the foreign exchange reserves to 13 billion dollars in the next quarter. The National Assembly passed “The National University of Pakistan Bill, 2023” moved by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi.

The bill provides room for the establishment of a university aimed at achieving excellence in the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in the fields of natural and applied sciences, engineering and emerging technologies, management sciences, computing, social sciences, humanities and arts and other such branches of knowledge.  The House will now meet on Thursday at 2 p.m.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP