The deadline given by the Supreme Court for providing Rs21 billion funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has expired. The federal government could not release Rs 21 billion to the ECP for the elections.
It is pertinent to mention here that Supreme Court on April 4 had set Monday (April 10) as the deadline for the government to issue funds — 21 billion Pakistani rupees — to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and told the ECP to report back to it on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar introduced a bill pertaining to funds for general elections in Punjab and KP in the National Assembly hours before the deadline given by the Supreme Court expired.
The bill titled “Charged Sums for General Elections of Provincial Assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bill 2023” was presented in both houses of the parliament — National Assembly and Senate.
Provincial snap elections are not in Pakistan’s national interest given its economic turmoil and security situation, the country’s finance minister said on Monday, in defiance of an order by the country’s supreme court. Original Source