— ISI boss briefs chief justice on security situation prevailing in country, reports say
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) submitted a report to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, confirming it has not yet received from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) the required Rs21 billion for holding elections to the Punjab parliament on May 14.
On April 4, the Supreme Court ordered the central bank to release the amount to the election commission by April 10 for conducting elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The three-judge bench — led by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ijaz ul-Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar — ordered the tribunal to provide a report on the government’s compliance with its order. However, the government referred the matter to parliament, which refused to issue the funds.
The ECP submitted a report to the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope, which reportedly informed the apex court about the government’s reluctance to provide the required amount.
In response, the court ordered the SBP to release the funds from the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF) worth Rs1.39 trillion and send a communication to the finance ministry by April 17.
The fund is a big pot of money that the federal government of Pakistan collects from taxes and loans, as well as any money they get back from loans they gave out.
Subsequently, on Monday, the bank allocated the funds and requested the finance ministry’s approval for the release of the amount. However, on the same day, the National Assembly “rejected” the government’s demand for the provision of Rs21 billion as a supplementary grant to the ECP.
The government of Shehbaz Sharif claims it requires approval from the National Assembly to release the amount from the fund.
Meanwhile, military officials, including the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, met with the chief justice and two other judges late on Monday apparently to discuss security concerns related to the upcoming elections.
Reports suggest the meeting lasted over three hours and Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum, the director general of the spy agency, gave a briefing on security issues facing the country. Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan also attended the meeting.
