The power struggle between Pakistan’s judiciary and the government led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Shehbaz Sharif has intensified (Picture: Reuters/Pakistan Daily)
The Government of Pakistan presented a demand to provide funds to the ECP for conducting elections, but it was rejected by most of the MNAs.
The Pakistan National Assembly on Monday rejected a supplementary demand to provide PKR21 billion to the federal government to meet the expenses of elections in Punjab province, defying the top court’s directions.
It should be noted that the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed the federal government to release funds and ensure security for elections in the Punjab province. The federal government was asked to release funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for conducting general elections in Punjab during the current financial year.
The National Assembly rejected the supplementary demand by a majority after Pakistan’s Law Minister Azam Tarar presented a summary to provide the necessary funds.
Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf put the motion before the House for a voice vote, after which it was rejected by members of the National Assembly.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday demanded the Supreme Court to initiate contempt proceedings against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for not releasing funds to the ECP for elections. The party vice president said that the decision of the State Bank of Pakistan not to release the money was in violation of the laws.
Chowdhury said the court should initiate proceedings and disqualify the prime minister and his cabinet for contempt of court. The former information minister said that despite his party agreeing to hold dialogue on the political situation in the country, the ruling party appeared “non-serious”.
People familiar with the developments said Pakistan’s top court is likely to summon officials and initiate contempt proceedings.
Uproar over the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023
The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) said it would observe Tuesday as Black Day to express its protest against the Supreme Court’s order suspending the operation of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023.
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, passed by the Parliament of Pakistan, proposes to limit the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and limit the Chief Justice’s powers to create benches as well as to fix and transfer cases. proposes.
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 seeks to transfer these powers to a three-member committee, which will also include the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the two senior-most judges of the apex court. The committee will also decide whether to take up the matter suo motu or not, a power which is solely conferred on the Chief Justice.
Bar appealed to the Supreme Court to show restraint from exacerbating the political crisis and allow “political forces to resolve political issues”.
(PKR – Pakistani Rupee)
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