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SC CAUTIONS AGAINST ‘CONSEQUENCES’ IF RS21B NOT PROVIDED TO ECP Thursday, 20 April, 2023 I 29 Ramzan, 1444
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Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 292 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
SUMMONS LEADERS OF ALL POLITICAL g DECLARES DEFENCE MINISTRY’S PLEA FOR SAME PARTIES, INCLUDING JI TODAY DAY POLLS IN COUNTRY AS INADMISSIBLE ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
ARNING the government over its refusal to release money for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Supreme Court on Wednesday cautioned the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition of “serious consequences” if Rs21 billion were not provided to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The Supreme Court made it clear that it would not backtrack from its April 4 order to hold the elections in Punjab on May 14 and summoned the leaders or representatives of all political parties, including the Jamaate-Islami, on Thursday (today). It also declared the defence ministry’s plea for conducting polls in the country at the same time as inadmissible. The warning came during a hearing on the defence ministry’s request to hold general elections simultaneously across Pakistan after the terms of the national, Sindh, and Balochistan parliaments were completed. On Tuesday, the defense ministry, headed by Khawaja Asif of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), filed an application in the Supreme Court, requesting it to retract its April 4 order that had set May 14 as the election date for the parliament of Punjab. A three-judge bench — comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz ul-Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar — took up the petition. Justice Bandial, who had received a briefing from military officials the day before, said the Supreme Court had already given a verdict on the Punjab vote and could not backtrack on it, emphasising that it was time to “move on.” The apex court had been briefed on the security situation by top intelligence officials a day earlier. Justice Bandial noted the director general of Military Operations briefed the bench, with the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and the defence
secretary also present. While acknowledging the briefing, Justice Bandial pointed out that it was only given after the Supreme Court had announced its verdict. He said that now that the decision had been made, they could not go back and must move forward. The attorney general for Pakistan (AGP) was called to the rostrum at the outset of the hearing and asked to read
the finance ministry’s report out loud in the courtroom. The report dealt with the issue of funding for conducting polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Justice Bandial remarked that the government had earlier claimed that the required funds would be issued via a supplementary grant. However, he pointed out that the matter was eventually sent to parliament. The AGP explained to the court that the National
Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue had referred the matter to the cabinet and parliament. Justice Akhtar remarked that a majority of the committee’s members were part of the government, and questioned how the government could be barred from approving a grant. He emphasised that the Constitution gave the government the right to issue a supplementary grant and asked how the assembly could intervene. He also stressed that it was mandatory to have a majority in “financial matters,” and the prime minister should have a majority in the parliament. The AGP replied that the right to approve a supplementary grant lay with parliament, and the NA had already expressed its opinion on the matter through a resolution. Justice Akhtar asked if the government could not have gotten the supplementary grant approved if it was serious. He also warned that taking post-facto approval of the grant would have been “risky,” and that the expenses would be classified as “unconstitutional” if approval was not granted.
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said that it is a prerogative of the Supreme Court to give its verdict on the issue of elections to Punjab and KP assemblies, but the parliament, too, had given its verdict. “The parliament has given its verdict on the matter of elections in Punjab”, Kh Asif said during an interview with a private TV programme. Currently both the executive and the judiciary have reached an impasse due to the government’s dillydallying in carrying out the Supreme Court’s verdict whereby it has ordered elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14. “Parliament has given its verdict. There is no ambiguity about it,” he said when asked about the possibility of the Supreme Court (SC) upholding its decision to hold elections in Punjab in May. Elections to the Punjab Assembly, as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, have been due since January when both houses were dissolved. The defence minister said parliament was the “mother of the Constitution” and a “reflection of the public’s aspirations”, and hence, it “predominates” over other constitu-
LAHORE
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking appointment of administrators in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as 90day tenure of caretaker governments in both provinces is going to end on April 22. Former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, ex-KP CM Mahmood Khan and Fawad Chaudhry will submit the petition as PTI Chairman Imran Khan has given nod for it after consultation. Mr Chaudhry said the interim government could not stay in power beyond 90 days as per the Constitution, adding that the petition will be filed today or tomorrow. The development comes days after Fawad Chaudhry penned a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi on the issue of the expiry of tenure of the caretaker governments in both provinces. “This is to draw our kind attention towards the breach of mandatory constitutional commands by the Federal Government and The Election Commission of Pakistan,” read the letter. He said the caretaker government are installed for the limited time period of 90 days under article 224 of the Constitution to ensure the fair and transparent elections, adding that the only objective of the interim set up was to facilitate the commission in holding free, fair, just and honest elections in accordance with constitution and law.
tional institutions. On April 4, the SC had ruled that polls in Punjab should be held on May 14, after the Election Commission of Pakistan decided to defer them to October 8. The court observed that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was bound by the law and Constitution to hold elections within 90 days of the dissolution of an assembly and directed the government to release Rs21 billion to the ECP by April 10 for holding polls in Punjab and KP. However, the government referred the matter to Parliament which defied the court’s orders and refused to issue the funds. The court then directed the State Bank of Pakistan to release the funds, but the central bank, despite having allocated the amount to the ECP, has not been able to release the funds as it needs the federal cabinet’s approval. Meanwhile, the federal cabinet — which requires the National Assembly’s (NA) approval for the release of the said funds — has managed through the lower house of parliament the rejection of its own demand for the provision of Rs21bn as a supplementary grant to the ECP for holding polls in the two provinces.
PM reaffirms Pakistan’s desire to fortify fraternal ties with Kuwait, Oman ISLAMABAD
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday recalled the historical brotherly ties between Pakistan and Kuwait and reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to fortify the fraternal ties by transforming them into mutually rewarding economic relationship. The prime minister telephoned Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Sabah, to extend his best wishes and warm greetings on the auspicious occasion of Eidul Fitr, the PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. The Kuwaiti prime minister warmly reciprocated PM Shehbaz’s Eid greetings and conveyed best wishes for the people of Pakistan. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the two nations. Both leaders agreed to celebrate it in a befitting manner, with the aim of further solidifying the bilateral ties in all areas of mutual interest.
‘SIGNIFICANCE OF PAKOMAN ECONOMIC LINKAGES’: Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday referring to the historic fraternal ties between Pakistan and Oman, emphasized the need for enhancing institutional and economic linkages between the two maritime neighbours. The prime minister phoned Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said, to extend his best wishes and warm greetings on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ulFitr, the PM Office Media Wing
said in a press release. The prime minister highlighted the immense potential with regard to further strengthening of the brotherly relations, especially in strategic, economic and trade spheres. The Sultan warmly reciprocated the prime minister’s Eid greetings and conveyed best wishes for the people of Pakistan. Both leaders reaffirmed their resolve to work closely towards further broadening bilateral relations with a view to achieving common objectives and aspirations of the people of the two countries.
CAD records surplus after two years CONTINUED ON PAGE 03
Pakistan’s current account achieved a surplus of $654 million in March, as per data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday. A tweet mentioning the same was made by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, adding that in February 2023, CAD was of $36 million. This is the first time the country’s current account balance was in surplus since November 2020, and the highest surplus since February 2015. The rise in remittances during the holy month of Ramadan and a fall in imports contributed to this outcome. In March, the current account deficit stood at $74 million, and for the nine months of the current fiscal year, the deficit
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Parliament already given verdict on Punjab polls: Kh Asif
PTI decides on legal battle against interim Punjab, KP setups as 90-day tenure nears end
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was $3.4 billion, marking a decrease of 74.1% from the same period last year. The SBP report suggests that measures taken to curb the deficit, such as import restrictions, have slowed down the economy’s growth. Former finance adviser Dr Khaqan Najeeb highlighted the impact of import restrictions on the economy, which has led to a near-zero growth rate and rising unemployment. According to experts, the decline in imports has surpassed the fall in exports and remittances. According to the latest SBP data, imports of goods dropped by 34.7% YoY in March, reaching $4 billion. At the same time, exports of goods also fell by 21% to $2.4 billion, and remittances declined by 10.7% YoY to $2.5 billion. To address the country’s foreign exchange reserves crisis last year, the govern-
ment decided to restrict imports to “essential items.” While some restrictions have been lifted, companies across all sectors have complained about banks not opening letters of credit (LCs). Moreover, the IMF, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank have reduced Pakistan’s growth forecasts for the fiscal year, estimating a growth rate of 0.4% to 0.6%. Dr Najeeb suggested that the government should finalize an agreement with the IMF to obtain over $1 billion in funds to avoid the risk of default. The IMF agreement would also unlock fresh inflows from other international lending agencies. He also emphasized that the government needs to find a solution to the dollar liquidity crunch. As of April 7, the central bank’s reserves stood at $4 billion, which is insufficient to cover even a month’s imports.
President Alvi again returns bill to clip CJP’s powers ‘unsigned’ ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
President Arif Alvi on Wednesday refused to give his assent to a bill, aims at clipping powers of the chief justice of Pakistan’s office, for a second time and observed the matter was sub judice before the apex court. “The matter of competency of legislation and validity of the bill is subjudice now before the highest judicial forum of the country. In deference to the same, thereto no further action is desirable,” he said in his reply. The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 is aimed at curtailing “suo motu powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan in an individual capacity” and giving the right to appeal in all suo motu cases with retrospective effect. The federal cabinet approved the draft bill on March 28 and then passed by both houses of parliament — the National Assembly and Senate — only for the president to refuse to sign it into law with the observation that it travelled “beyond the competence of parliament”. However, a joint session of parliament passed it again on April 10 with certain amendments amid a noisy protest by PTI lawmakers. Now again the bill was referred to President Dr Alvi for his assent and as per the Constitution, in case of the bill not being signed by him within 10 days, his assent would have been deemed granted. But three days after passage of the bill by the joint session of the parliament, an eight-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), including CJP Umar Ata Bandial, barred the government from implementing the bill after it becomes a law. “The moment that the bill receives the assent of the president or it is deemed that such assent has been given, then from that very moment onwards and till further orders, the act that comes into being shall not have, take or be given any effect nor be acted upon in any manner,” read the SC’s interim order. The apex court’s pre-emptive move has received criticism from the ruling coalition at the Centre. The federal government has also raised objections to the eight-member bench that has taken up the matter, terming it “controversial and unilateral”, and so has the Pakistan Bar Council.