Islamabad: A big question mark appears on the possibility of the federal government approving a fat chunk of the budget to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by April 10 for holding the Punjab Assembly polls.
According to sources, the electoral watchdog is unlikely to receive funds for the polls by April 10 because no meeting of the federal cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) is scheduled until April 10.
The ECP has demanded Rs21 billion from the PMLN-led PDM government for holding polls in the biggest province of the country on May 14 as ordered by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
In its recent verdict, the apex court also directed the finance ministry to give the funds to the Commission by April 10.
It is also pertinent to mention that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called on a meeting of the federal cabinet on Sunday (today) to mull over several matters pertaining to the recent political and constitutional crises in the country.
PM Shehbaz has not yet delineated the agenda for the meeting. However, President Dr Arif Alvi’s decision to return the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, Justice Athar Minallah’s dissenting note and Supreme Court’s verdict on polls would come under discussion.
The meeting will take place at the PM House at 2 pm with the prime minister in the chair to devise a strategy to address the matters surrounding the bill.
According to the sources, the federal cabinet meeting will also approve the decisions taken during the National Security Council (NSC) meeting that took place on Friday.
