Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan Wednesday summoned the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the finance secretary, the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) and the ECP secretary over the non-provision of funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan for conducting general elections for the Punjab Assembly.
While summoning the top officials to the apex court on April 14, 11 am, an order issued by the Supreme Court registrar warned the government of “consequences” that are “well settled and known”.
“The consequences that can flow from such prima facie defiance of the court are well settled and known,” read the order.
The order came a day after the ECP submitted a sealed envelope before the Supreme Court blaming the “reluctant” federal government for the lack of funding that it had to receive per the Supreme Court order before April 10.
Per the apex court’s order of April 4, May 14 was fixed as the polling day for the Punjab election and the ECP was asked to file a report in the Court by April 11 stating whether it had received the funds or not, and if so, whether in full or in part.
“Every person who embarks upon, encourages or instigates disobedience of the court can be held liable and accountable.”
The letters indicated that funding the staging of elections was a more crucial issue than pursuing a lawsuit for contempt of court.
The notification instructed the SBP chief to attend the hearing accompanied by a list of all the resources available to the central bank. Also, it instructed the finance secretary to bring records to court.
It is important to know that the PMLN-led government has introduced the “Charged Sums for General Elections (Provincial Assemblies of the Punjab and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa)” Bill 2023 in both houses of parliament.
The bill, which has been dubbed as an attempt to delay the polls, seeks parliamentary approval for the release of Rs21 billion to conduct polls in line with the SC order.
