Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday tabled the Money Bill (Charged Sum for General Elections to Provincial Assemblies of Punjab and KP), 2023 in the National Assembly to seek funds for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in line with a Supreme Court ruling directing polls in Punjab on May 14.
In its ruling last week, the apex court had directed the federal government to release Rs. 21 billion to the ECP by April 10 for elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. However, with the deadline expiring today, the government has yet to release any funds, with the federal cabinet deciding to refer the matter to Parliament.
According to the bill tabled by the finance minister, the funds required for polls in Punjab and KP would be pulled from the Federal Consolidated Fund comprising all revenues received by the federal government, all loans raised by the government and all money received by it in repayment of any loan. It said that the bill would “override other laws” and would stand repealed once elections to both provincial assemblies had been held.
Presenting the bill, Dar reiterated that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government’s policies had steered the country to the brink of default. Maintaining that the incumbent government had inherited an economy in shambles, he reiterated that Pakistan had been the 24th largest economy in 2017 and the PTI had brought it down to 47th.
Accusing the PTI of facilitating a constitutional crisis and “constantly” spreading unrest and despair through misinformation and propaganda, he maintaining that the previous government had not implemented the IMF agreement it had signed and was now “working against” its terms and conditions, worsening the economic situation.
“We have employed all-out efforts to complete the IMF program and the staff-level agreement would be signed soon,” he claimed, echoing the many times in the past three months that he has claimed the staff-level agreement is on the verge of signing. Defending the rampant inflation unleashed by the incumbent government, Dar claimed that the country would have defaulted if “tough decisions” were not taken. “These decisions made the government suffer political loss as well … and now, we have set out towards development,” he claimed.
Dar also slammed the PTI for a “planned conspiracy” to create a constitutional crisis by dissolving the Punjab and KP assemblies, adding the party’s lawmakers had also resigned from the National Assembly, which he described as tantamount to disrespecting the public’s mandate. Stressing that conducting elections was a constitutional requirement, he stated that this should be done nationwide simultaneously under caretaker governments. “This will help save money and hold elections freely, fairly and in a transparent manner,” he said, emphasizing that the sovereignty of Parliament could not be denied.
Alleging that conducting polls prior to October was not in the national interest, he cited the ongoing digital census as yet another barrier to ensuring free and fair polls. He also regretted that a “minority” judgment of the Supreme Court was being used to force elections and noted that a parliamentary resolution had urged the government not to implement it.
Following Dar’s tabling of the bill, Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf referred it to the relevant committee and then adjourned the proceedings till 2 p.m. on April 13 (Thursday).