Federal government on Thursday tried to convince the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that the purpose of Prime Minister's Kissan Package was relief to poor farmers and that it would have no impact on he results of local government elections. The hearing, presided over by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), was conducted here on Thursday during which Attorney General Salman Aslam representing federation and Health Secretary from government appeared before a division bench. The hearing was adjourned till November 11.
The government lawyer argued before the commission that the Kissan Package worth Rs 341 billion is only for the welfare of farmers and partially scrapped by the ECP without giving a chance to the ministry of finance for an explanation. In a suo motu, the ECP had stopped implementation of some clauses of the Kissan Package over violation of the election code. A petition was submitted in the Islamabad High Court stating that the package could not be approved without permission of the National Assembly. Petitioner Shahid Orakzai argued that introduction of a supplementary budget is mandatory for this package. There is no room for payment of such a huge amount without supplementary budget. He had requested the court to immediately bar payment of this package.