Islamabad: As the stand-off continues between the government and the higher judiciary regarding the Punjab polls, Speaker of the National Assembly, Raja Parvez Ashraf, wrote a letter to Supreme Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, conveying “profound concerns” of the elected representatives over recent Supreme Court orders and some comments by judges, terming them an “encroachment” on parliament’s domain.
In the long five-page letter, the NA speaker asked the apex court to avoid getting involved in the “political thicket” as far as possible.
Honorable Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf writes letter to Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Justice Umer Atta Bandial, regarding
" Encroachment upon the National Assembly's power to approve expenditure from federal consolidated fund". 2/2 pic.twitter.com/fQI3o0fdiL
— National Assembly 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) April 26, 2023
He added that it was best to leave the resolution of political matters to the parliament and the political parties.
It is important to note that the development came just hours before the deadline when the political parties had to meet to find a consensus on the date of holding polls in Punjab.
The SC will resume hearing on elections today (Thursday), but the negotiation between the political parties, as suggested by the apex court, did not happen.
The parameters of talks between the ruling coalition and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding holding elections nationwide on the same day would be discussed by a parliamentary committee, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who made the announcement during a meeting of the ruling coalition earlier on Wednesday.
PM Shehbaz says arbitration not SC’s job
However, the members of the ruling alliance rejected holding discussions with the opposition under pressure and reaffirmed faith in PM Shehbaz’s leadership in their vehement parliamentary addresses.
Through the letter, Raja urged the CJP and Supreme Court judges “to exercise restraint and respect the legislative domain of the parliament”.
The speaker wrote that the National Assembly “strongly feels that these recent decisions amount to encroachment upon two core constitutional functions of the Assembly — lawmaking and power of the purse”.
He called the CJP’s attention to key constitutional provisions that give the National Assembly exclusive control over money bills and give elected members the right to approve spending from the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF).
