ISLAMABAD -UNS: In a move to ease the tension surrounding the upcoming elections, Speaker National Assembly Raja Parvez Ashraf on Wednesday announced that he would be writing a letter to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial to convey the sentiments of the members of National Assembly.
He said, “the country has been suffering from a state of agitation.”
Raja Pervez Ashraf stated that he understands the concerns of the people, and believes that the Supreme Court should be made aware of the sentiments of the National Assembly members.
The speaker said that he would be writing the letter to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial himself, and would try to do so as soon as possible.
This announcement comes at a crucial time, as the Supreme Court was set to hear the Punjab election case on Thursday, and the government was reluctant to release funds for the elections.
Tarar affirms Parliament’s authority to allocate funds for Punjab elections
Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar asserted that the Parliament possessed complete authority to allocate Rs 21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan for conducting the upcoming elections in the Punjab province, scheduled for May 14.
“The use of the phrase ‘sovereign powers’ implies that the decision is legally and constitutionally valid, allowing the Parliament to exercise its jurisdiction in this matter,” he added.
The minister was speaking in the National Assembly after obtaining approval to suspend the Question Hour and deliberate on the Federal Cabinet’s decision to refer a summary to the Parliament for the allocation of Rs 21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the upcoming general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
He emphasized that certain clauses in the Constitution “explicitly state that expenditures necessitate the approval of the National Assembly. The Federal Cabinet has once again submitted the Supreme Court’s directives from April 19, requesting for the allocation of funds, to the National Assembly.”
The minister raised a question regarding the Supreme Court’s instructions to disburse the amount without the National Assembly’s authorization, stating that if the election funds were released without their approval, it was unclear from whom the amount would be recovered.
Tarar was of the opinion that the election fund bill had been declined twice by both houses of the
Parliament. As a result, the government could not distribute funds without the approval of the National Assembly.
