ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly and Senate Standing Committees on Finance on Thursday rejected the “Charged Sums for General Elections of Provincial Assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bill 2023”, literally denying approval of funds for the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa polls as per the Supreme Court order.
The finance committees met here at the parliament house to discuss the bill. On April 10, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had tabled the bill pertaining to funds for general elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa hours before the deadline given by the Supreme Court for release of Rs21 billion to the Election Commission ends.
The bill was tabled in both houses of the parliament — National Assembly and the Senate — minutes after the federal cabinet approved a Ministry of Finance’s summary regarding the expenditure on polls. The SC, in its April 4 verdict, had directed the Shehbaz-led federal government to release and provide the Election Commission of Pakistan with funds worth Rs21 billion in any case, by April 10 for polls.
While presenting the bill in the Assembly, Dar said that it is now up to the parliament to decide whether funds to the electoral body should be released. Expressing his views in the national assembly, Dar said snap elections as ordered by the top court were not in national interest due to economic situation and security. He said elections in all assemblies should be held on the same date and added the government laid this bill before the parliament in light of the SC orders to release Rs21 billion to the ECP.
