On Monday,
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar introduced a bill in the Parliament to release funds
for holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as directed by the
Supreme Court. The apex court had recently set May 14 as the date for the polls
in Punjab and directed the government to release Rs21 billion in election funds
to the Election Commission of Pakistan by April 10.
As the
deadline drew near, the government referred the matter to parliament during a
federal cabinet meeting held on Sunday. The bill, titled ‘Charged Sum for
General Election (Provincial Assemblies of Punjab & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Bill 2023’, declared that the required funds for conducting elections in both
provinces would be "an expenditure charged upon the Federal Consolidated
Fund."
It also stated that the proposed law would
override other laws and regulations and would stand repealed once elections
were held for both assemblies, regardless of whether the general elections and
polls to the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies were held. The bill was presented
in the National Assembly and Senate, and both sessions were later adjourned.
In his
address to the lower house of parliament, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar criticized
the PTI government for using "inappropriate policies" that nearly pushed
the country to the brink of default. He reminded the house that when the
current government took office in April last year, the economy was in disarray.
"Because of their [the PTI's] failure, the country fell from its 24th rank
in 2017 to the 47th position."
Dar
condemned the PTI for attempting to create a constitutional crisis in the
country and "constantly trying to spread unrest and despair among the
nation." He also criticized the previous government for failing to
implement the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement and "working
against its terms and conditions."
However, Dar
reassured the lower house that the government had made "all-out
efforts" to complete the IMF program and that the staff-level agreement
would be signed soon. He pointed out that recent policy decisions, including
price hikes, were necessary to prevent default, even though they cost the
government political capital. He added that the government was now moving
towards development.
During the
session, Dar claimed that the PTI dissolved the Punjab and KP assemblies as
part of a "planned conspiracy" to create a constitutional crisis. He
also reminded the house that PTI lawmakers resigned from the National Assembly,
which he regarded as a disrespect to the public mandate. He maintained that
holding elections was a constitutional responsibility, but argued that it was
important to hold polls across the country simultaneously under caretaker
governments.
The minister
emphasized that the release of funds through parliament would help save money
and ensure free, fair and transparent elections, as per the Constitution of
Pakistan. He stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was
responsible for holding fair and free elections, but holding polls at this time
was not in Pakistan's national interest due to the current economic and
security situation.
Regarding
the recent decisions of the Supreme Court, Dar argued that the verdict was a
"minority" judgment, and parliament urged the government not to
implement it. As a result, the federal cabinet decided to present the SC's
order for the release of election funds to parliament for discussion.
Following
this, the National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf stated that the bill
had been referred to the appropriate committee. The National Assembly session
was adjourned until April 13 (Thursday) at 2 pm.
The finance
minister proceeded to the Senate after his speech in the NA and presented a
copy of the same bill.
"I
humbly submit to the Senate a copy of the money bill to charge the sums upon the
FCF for charging sum for general elections to the provincial assemblies of the
Punjab and KP as required under Article 73 of the Constitution," he
stated.
The Senate
Chairman, Sadiq Sanjrani, informed members that they could submit their
proposals for making recommendations on the money bill to the Senate
Secretariat by Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 10am.
Joint
Session
Sanjrani
added that the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue would consider
the proposals received and submit its report by Friday, April 14, 2023. He went
on to say that the upper house would examine the committee's report on Friday
and make recommendations to the NA accordingly. He then adjourned the session
until 10am on Friday.
Following a
heated debate, the joint session of parliament passed the Supreme Court
(Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, despite protests by PTI senators.
The bill,
which aims to curtail the power of the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo
motu notice in an individual capacity, was presented by Law Minister Azam
Nazeer Tarar.
On March 28,
the federal cabinet approved the bill, which was then passed by the National
Assembly on March 29 after a few amendments were suggested by the Standing
Committee on Law and Justice. On March 30, it was passed by the Senate and
referred to the president for his approval.
However, the
president returned the bill, arguing that the proposed legislation was beyond
the jurisdiction of the legislative body and susceptible to challenge as a
specious enactment.
During the
joint session, Tarar read out the president’s reply, which claimed that the
proposed law “travels beyond the competence of parliament” and can be assailed
as “colourable legislation”. Tarar criticized the president for using such
language, stating that it was a negative comment on parliament’s independence
and law-making power.
Tarar
responded to various objections raised by the president on the bill and
eventually, the bill was passed with one amendment proposed by PML-N MNA Shaza
Fatima. A proposed amendment by Jamaat-i-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan was
rejected. The amendments mainly focused on changes in the language in the bill.
Amendments
MNA Fatima
proposed an amendment to the bill that contained the following suggestions:
1. Insert
the word "next" after the word "two" in sub-clause (1).
2. Re-number
the proposed sub-clause (2) as sub-clause (3) and replace the existing
sub-clause (2) with the following: "(2) Soon after the commencement of
this Act, the committee constituted under sub-section (1) shall hold its first
meeting to determine its procedure, including for holding meetings, and
constitution of benches, etc.; Provided that, until such time the procedure is
determined under this sub-section, the meeting of the committee for the purpose
of sub-section (1) shall be convened by the chief justice or other two members
of the committee, as the case may be."
3. Substitute
the word "exercising" for the words "of the Supreme Court who
exercised" in clause (5), sub-clause (1).
4. Substitute
the expression "within a period not exceeding fourteen days, be fixed for
hearing" for the expression "for hearing, be fixed within a period
not exceeding fourteen days" in clause (5), sub-clause (1).
On the other
hand, Senator Khan proposed the omission of sub-clause (2) of clause (5) of the
bill.
After
passing bills in a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate, they
are presented to the president for assent. If the president does not provide
his approval within ten days, it will be considered granted.
Apart from
the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, the joint session also passed
a resolution stating that elections to the National Assembly and provincial
assemblies should be held on the same day. Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Murtaza Javed Abbasi moved the resolution.
