ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday wrote a letter to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial to convey the views of the parliamentarians regarding the Supreme Court’s verdict on Punjab elections.
The development came after lawmakers, including Muhammad Barjees Tahir of the PML-N, called for parliament’s supremacy. The decision also followed the federal cabinet’s move to refer to parliament the finance ministry’s summary for the release of funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for polls in Punjab and KP.
The federal cabinet had earlier approved that the matter of releasing Rs21 billion, initially ordered by the Supreme Court in an April 4 order, be taken to parliament for a second time. The statement was released after a meeting of the ruling coalition and a day before the Supreme Court resumed hearing a case on elections in the country.
The impasse between the judiciary and executive on elections in the country has been ongoing for several weeks.
The issue dates back to January when provincial assemblies in Punjab and KP were dissolved. On April 4, a three-member bench directed the ECP to hold elections in Punjab on May 14 and instructed the government to release funds for the purpose by April 10. However, the government did not release the amount and opined that the elections should be held on same day across the country.
Addressing the National Assembly session, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) cannot issue funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), despite the Supreme Court order to the central bank to release the funds.
“Though we release funds, even then the polls won’t be conducted in 90 days. It is not the first time that the elections will be held after 90 days. Earlier, after the death of Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and 1998, the polls were conducted after passing the 90-day time period,” said Ishaq Dar.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto said that courts cannot amend or rewrite the constitution, rather interpret it.
The Pakistan People’s Party chairman said that the court ‘insulted’ the parliament through its verdict to hold elections in Punjab on May 14.
“No judge has the authority to say that the prime minister has no majority in the house. We always have respect for the judiciary. It is violation of the constitution if someone does not implement the orders of the parliament,” said Bilawal Bhutto.
