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ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday filed a report to Pakistan’s Supreme Court (SC) on the allocation of funds for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly elections.
The report was filed to the Supreme Court’s Registrar’s Office by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
According to the ECP’s report, the electoral watchdog did not get Rs21 billion for the polls in two provinces as directed by the Supreme Court. The SC had asked ECP to provide a report on the provision of election funds at the previous hearing before Eidul Fitr. The Supreme Court also ordered political parties to have negotiations on April 26 and respond by April 27 after providing stakeholders an opportunity to achieve an accord.
During yesterday’s hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Awan told the court that the first contact between the government and the opposition occurred on April 19, and a meeting was scheduled for April 26.
Federal Ministers Ayaz Sadiq and Khawaja Saad Rafique met with PTI leader and former NA speaker Asad Qaiser, who stated at the meeting that he is not ‘authorized’ for talks, according to the AGP.
The hearing was later adjourned by the Supreme Court. The CJP stated that the ‘proper’ verdict will be issued during today’s hearing and that the SC will not provide a deadline.
On April 4, a three-judge bench led by the chief justice and comprised of Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan declared the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone the election for the Punjab Assembly as “unconstitutional” and ordered the province to hold elections on May 14.
On April 14, the same bench directed the SBP to immediately release Rs21 billion for the election and submit its findings by April 18.
