ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday has submitted a sealed report to the Supreme Court regarding the availability of funds for holding elections in Punjab by the federal government.
The report was submitted to the SC registrar’s office, which will be presented to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar at their chambers.
It is believed that till to date, the government has not allocated the necessary funds for conducting elections. Instead, the matter of financing the elections has been passed on to Parliament. The proposed bill has been forwarded to a standing committee, and legislators are scheduled to convene again on Thursday.
It may be recalled that on April 4, the apex court had ordered the government to provide funds for the polls to Punjab Assembly by April 10. Additionally, the court had ordered the submission of a report about the availability of security personnel for poll duty and cooperation by concerned institutions for holding elections.
The ECP had demanded Rs21 billion from the government to hold elections in Punjab. This demand came after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar tabled a bill in both houses of parliament seeking the release of funds for holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in line with the directives issued by the Supreme Court. The bill was later forwarded to the relevant Standing Committee after which the NA session was prorogued till Thursday.
