ISLAMABAD: Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday questioned Prime Minister Imran Khan’s stance on the grant of development funds to members of the national and provincial assemblies as the Supreme Court (SC) took up a suo motu case to determine the Constitutional status of the move.
On Tuesday, the apex court constituted a five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, and served notices on the prime minister’s principal secretary, Cabinet Division secretary, finance secretary, federal and provincial advocate generals, and provincial chief secretaries.
However, Justice Isa on Wednesday noted that a letter submitted by the premier’s principal secretary to the top judicial forum “did not contain the answers to the court’s questions”.
“The letter does not have answers to the court’s questions. It seems the prime minister has not read the court’s order properly,” the judge said.
In January, Prime Minister Imran announced a grant of Rs500 million for each member of the national and provincial assemblies under sustainable development goals to enable them to carry out development schemes for their voters.
However, last week, Justice Isa took notice of the development, warning of legal proceedings if the move was found to be in contravention of the Constitution.
On the occasion, he had asked Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan to update the court on the issue based on the government’s response.
However, Khan responded he would update the court after receiving instructions from the government and further reassured that “whatever action is taken will be in the light of the law, Constitution and legal precedent.”
Subsequently, Justice Isa referred the matter to the top judge for the formation of a bench.
On Wednesday, all provinces submitted written replies to the court except for Sindh. When asked, the Sindh government’s counsel informed the court the provincial government had not given development funds to any lawmakers.
“Sindh government should have submitted a written answer,” CJP Gulzdar replied.
Meanwhile, AG Khan told the court the grant of development funds was “linked to the Constitution”, adding that the prime minister knew that “government funds cannot be used wrongly”.
“No member of the National Assembly will be given money [directly],” he added.
According to the procedure, the funds do not get issued to the individual MP or MPA. They get assigned to a project through a robust mechanism.
Justice Isa questioned who had drafted the reply submitted by Principal Secretary Azam Khan. To this, Khan replied that it was “a matter between the lawyer and his client”.
“The letter does not have proper English, it does not answer the court’s questions. It seems like the prime minister has tried to keep the door open for [granting] funds,” Justice Isa said.
He also remarked that there was a “storm of information” from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting every day.
“Either the prime minister should remain firm on what he said or admit he had made a mistake. Why is the prime minister hiding behind his secretary? The entire media published the news and the prime minister is silent,” the judge said.
Khan replied if the prime minister “started refuting every news himself, he would not be able to do any other work”.
The court ordered the Sindh government to submit its reply today.
The bench also ordered the finance secretary to submit a clear answer to the court, directing that the report should also have the premier’s signature on it.
The case was adjourned till Thursday.
