ISLAMABAD: Shibli Faraz, Federal Minister for Science and Technology has contradicted statement of Information Minister about the non-providsion of funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Information Minister told media on Tuesday that after the passage of the new electoral law, it is essential for the ECP to hold all upcoming by-elections using EVMs. In case the ECP fails to do so, the government will not be able to release funds for the ECP under the law, he said.
Federal Minister Shibli Faraz, however, denied that the federal cabinet had made any decision to obstruct the ECP’s funds. “The ministers had a casual discussion [over the issue] while Prime Minister Imran Khan was offering Zuhr prayers,” he said while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk‘ along with a discussion panel consisting of former Sindh governor and representative of Maryam Nawaz, Muhammad Zubair, and The News Editor Investigation Ansar Abbasi.
Faraz said he believed that Fawad’s remarks had got some “unnecessary media attention”.
Reacting to Faraz’s statement, Zubair termed it “a very serious issue” and criticised the government over its decision-making process. “We all know, as Fawad Chaudhry briefed the media that the cabinet has made this decision,” said the PML-N leader. “But, he [Shibli] is now saying that the cabinet decided it when the premier was not around. This is a very serious issue.”
It is a serious issue that the cabinet made such a crucial decision in the PM’s absence, which the PM himself does not own, Zubair added.
However, Faraz said no such decision was made at all. He said a more important news is that the PM instituted a cabinet-ratified committee to sort out all electoral bottlenecks in the implementation of electoral laws.
