By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday said the government’s failure to comply with its orders to allocate funds for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces amounts to disobedience.
The court has issued notices to the finance secretary, the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, the Attorney General for Pakistan, and the Election Commission of Pakistan for failing to disburse Rs21 billion in funds for polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The top court instructed the officials to appear in the judges’ chamber on April 14.
In its April 4 verdict, the Supreme Court had ordered the government to provide the required funds to the Election Commission by April 10 to conduct elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The court also directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to provide a report on whether the government complied with the order on April 11.
The Election Commission on Tuesday informed the court that the government had failed to issue the required amount for the polls.
The verdict did not sit well with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, which says it is not economically viable to hold polling on separate dates for the National Assembly and provincial assembly seats.
The controversy was triggered when former prime minister Imran Khan’s party and an ally dissolved provincial assemblies in Punjab and KP in January to force the government to declare early elections.
While Pakistan’s constitution says polls must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of an assembly, the country has historically held voting for all seats on the same day.
Instead of releasing the funds, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday tabled a bill seeking the parliament’s approval on the matter.
The Supreme Court has noted that the “disobedience” by the government would put the conduct of timely elections as mandated by the Constitution in “jeopardy”.
“The failure of the federal government to comply with the order of the court as aforesaid is prima facie disobedience,” the court observed.
“The consequences that can flow from such prima facie defiance of the court are well settled and known. Every person who embarks upon, encourages or instigates disobedience or defiance of the court can be held liable and accountable,” the notice pointed out.
“The question of the provision of funds for such a vital constitutional purpose is something that requires immediate attention which takes priority over proceeding against those who may have committed contempt of the court.”
Following last week’s verdict Sharif’s government has been on a collision course with the judiciary, calling on Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial to resign and accusing the three-member bench that issued the judgment of being biased against it.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
