A three-member Supreme Court (SC) bench warned on Wednesday there would be serious consequences if the government failed to release funds required for conducting polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar heard the defence ministry’s request to hold general elections across Pakistan on the same date, rather than hold them earlier in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) where assemblies were dissolved in January.
There are two issues at play here: one is regarding the Supreme Court’s verdict that Punjab and KP polls be held next month. The other is its order that the government gives $ 21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan to help it with these elections.
During the hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan said the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue had referred the matter regarding the funds to the Cabinet and Parliament.
Justice Akhtar said that the Constitution gave the government the right to issue a supplementary grant and questioned how the NA could intervene.
At one point, the CJP said that the funds spent on the election were a “necessary” expenditure, adding that it is expected that the government will review its decision.
“The government should either decide or again refer the matter to the NA,” he said.
The hearing was then adjourned.
Earlier, the Supreme Court said the decision to delay polls in Punjab and KP is “unconstitutional” and polls must take place next month.
However, the defence ministry’s plea requests that rather than hold them earlier, polls for the National and all Provincial Assemblies be held together upon completion of their terms.
The tenure of the National Assembly and the legislature of two other provinces — Sindh and Balochistan — will end later this year and the federal government wants the polls to take place then, not in May, as directed by the top court.
Commenting on the report submitted by the defence ministry, the CJP said that it had a “strange” stance. “Can the ministry of defence make a request to hold elections simultaneously in the country?” he asked, terming the ministry’s plea to be “not maintainable”.
Supreme Court directs SBP to release Rs21bn for Punjab elections
AGP Awan said Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad yesterday, adding that efforts were afoot to initiate political dialogue. All ruling parties, apart from one, are willing to talk with the PTI, he said. He added that Bilawal would meet with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in this regard today to convince him of negotiations.
CJP Bandial said that the AGP’s stance had some weight. He said that the court could “make some room” if all political parties were united in their stance.
“You think this is a matter of political justice in which the decision will be made by the people. You are suggesting that the political parties should negotiate. The government did not respond when the court asked for assurance. The government spoke positively for the first time today,” CJP Bandial observed and said the court was issuing a notice to political parties for tomorrow (Thursday).
Reacting to the top court’s order, PTI nominated Fawad Chaudhry and Shah Mehmood Qureshi will represent the party in the court on Thursday.
“The issue of giving a party position in the case under hearing regarding the elections in the Supreme Court of Pakistan With the approval of Chairman Imran Khan, a two-member delegation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf will participate in the hearing Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Central Senior Vice President Chaudhry Fawad Hussain included in the delegation,” the PTI said on Twitter.
“The two leaders will attend the hearing before the three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan tomorrow and present the position of the party,” it added.