Ruling coalition shows willingness to discuss elections on a same day with other parties
ISLAMABAD: The ruling parties in the coalition showed its willingness to negotiate the process of holding elections on the same day with other political parties as per the order of the Supreme Court.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the meeting of the ruling parties on Wednesday.
“As politicians, we never shut the doors on negotiations and no one who believes in democracy could do so,” the coalition parties said after meeting.
The ruling parties of the PDM held a meeting in Islamabad after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting to discuss the prevailing political situation and the efforts of Jamaat-e-Islami for negotiation to defuse tension.
The coalition parties said that talks are already going on after PM Shehbaz Sharif has formed a committee.
The huddle said: “From offering the Charter of Economy at every stage until now, the coalition government has expressed willingness for serious, meaningful and within Constitution talks.”
“Ensuring free, fair and transparent elections is fundamental to the Constitution.”
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Supreme Court ordered the government to hold talks with other parties to set a date for elections. The court also warned the government of serious consequences for not releasing funds for elections by April 27/
Also, the apex court declared as inadmissible for hearing the plea of the defence ministry seeking general elections across Pakistan simultaneously upon completion of the terms of the assemblies.
The Supreme Court ruled this while hearing the defence ministry’s request on Wednesday.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar heard the petition.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan started hearing on Wednesday the plea of the defence ministry to cancel elections in Punjab on May 4 and announce the same date for countrywide elections of all the assemblies when they complete their present tenure.
On Tuesday, the Defence Ministry filed a plea in the Supreme Court a day after ISI, MI chiefs, and the defence secretary briefed the chief justice of Pakistan and two other judges about the prevailing security situation in the country.
The heads of ISI, MI, and the secretary of defence requested the apex court to suspend its order of holding elections in Punjab on May 14.
The Ministry of Defence suggested nationwide elections simultaneously for all the assemblies.
For this purpose, the defence ministry filed a request in the Supreme Court and a three-member will start its hearing at 11:30 am today.
On Monday, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) chiefs gave a detailed briefing to the judges of the Supreme Court who ordered elections in Punjab.
The heads of ISI and MI gave a briefing to the chief justice and other judges of the bench in the chamber of the CJP Umar Ata Bandial for three consecutive hours.
Last week, the apex court ordered the State Bank of Pakistan to release Rs 21 billion for elections in Punjab.
Resultantly, the acting governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Sima Kamil informed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance on Monday that the SBP has allocated Rs21 billion for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold elections in Punjab. She, however, stated that the central bank does not have the authority to release funds directly.
The Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Finance held a crucial meeting to discuss the SC’s order to the SBP to release Rs 21 billion for the Punjab elections. PML-N MNA Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh chaired the meeting on Monday.
The matter was referred to the federal cabinet for the approval of a Rs 21 billion release, but the cabinet sent it to the National Assembly to get approval. The National Assembly, however, turned down the government’s request to release Rs 21 billion for elections in Punjab.
It was decided in the meeting that a Money Bill will be presented in the National Assembly to authorize the release of the funds. If the Parliament approved the Money Bill, the government would release the funds for elections, he added.
Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan has allocated Rs 21 billion for elections in Punjab as per the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
At present, about Rs 1.3 trillion were available in the federal government’s
account No. 1. The central bank has allocated Rs 21 billion from this account.
The State Bank of Pakistan informed the Finance Ministry on Monday (April 17)
about the allocation of money for elections in Punjab. The central bank, however, maintained that it could not release money without permission from the government.
