ISLAMABAD: Warning the government over the refusal to release money for conducting elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Supreme Court on Wednesday cautioned the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition of “serious consequences” if Rs21 billion were not provided to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The warning came during a hearing on the defence ministry’s request to hold general elections simultaneously across Pakistan after the terms of the national, Sindh, and Balochistan parliaments were completed.
On Tuesday, the defense ministry, headed by Khawaja Asif of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), filed an application in the Supreme Court, requesting it to retract its April 4 order that had set May 14 as the election date for the parliament of Punjab.
A three-judge bench — comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz ul-Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar — took up the petition.
Justice Bandial, who had received a briefing from military officials the day before, said the Supreme Court had already given a verdict on the Punjab vote and could not backtrack on it, emphasising that it was time to “move on.”
The apex court had been briefed on the security situation by top intelligence officials a day earlier. Justice Bandial noted the director general of Military Operations briefed the bench, with the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and the defence secretary also present.
While acknowledging the briefing, Justice Bandial pointed out that it was only given after the Supreme Court had announced its verdict. He said that now that the decision had been made, they could not go back and must move forward.
The attorney general for Pakistan (AGP) was called to the rostrum at the outset of the hearing and asked to read the finance ministry’s report out loud in the courtroom. The report dealt with the issue of funding for conducting polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Justice Bandial remarked that the government had earlier claimed that the required funds would be issued via a supplementary grant. However, he pointed out that the matter was eventually sent to parliament. The AGP explained to the court that the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue had referred the matter to the cabinet and parliament.
Justice Akhtar remarked that a majority of the committee’s members were part of the government, and questioned how the government could be barred from approving a grant. He emphasised that the Constitution gave the government the right to issue a supplementary grant and asked how the assembly could intervene.
He also stressed that it was mandatory to have a majority in “financial matters,” and the prime minister should have a majority in the parliament.
The AGP replied that the right to approve a supplementary grant lay with parliament, and the NA had already expressed its opinion on the matter through a resolution.
Justice Akhtar asked if the government could not have gotten the supplementary grant approved if it was serious. He also warned that taking post-facto approval of the grant would have been “risky,” and that the expenses would be classified as “unconstitutional” if approval was not granted.
Justice Bandial remarked that there was no previous instance of referring administrative matters to the relevant standing committee, and noted that the funds spent on election were a “necessary” expenditure.
During the hearing, the chief justice observed that the electoral watchdog had stated that polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could not be conducted till October. He further noted that the ECP had called for holding elections simultaneously in the country and had cited the security situation.
Justice Bandial said that several questions arose from the ECP’s stance, and questioned what new danger there was for not holding polls in the country.
The AGP replied and said that in the past, security forces had performed their duties at one time, but now elections would take place in two provinces separately. He also mentioned that since 2001, security forces were busy at the country’s borders, dealing with external threats.
Justice Akhtar asked whether the army came to the civil government’s aid under Article 245 of the Constitution. The AGP responded that fundamental rights were suspended under Article 245. Justice Akhtar then asked whether fundamental rights were suspended during the 2008 polls, and why the government was not exercising its powers under Article 245. He questioned whether the Constitution was not supreme.
Justice Ahsan observed that timely elections were held in Britain during a time of war, and asked where the government had the right to delay polls.
He also noted that the top court’s directives regarding funds for polls were being sent from one place to another, and asked what guarantee there was that elections would be held on October 8.
Justice Bandial said that it was expected that the government would review its decision and either decide or again refer the matter to the NA. The AGP was instructed to inform the government regarding the court’s directives.
Justice Ahsan warned that failure to provide funds could have serious consequences, while Justice Bandial noted that polls had been held in the country despite ongoing terrorism since 1992.
He also pointed out that the situation was particularly sensitive in 2008 when former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was killed.
DEFENSE MINISTRY REPORT
In addition to the application, the defense ministry has also submitted a report in court. This report was laid before the Supreme Court in compliance with its directives to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and other departments to furnish reports after releasing Rs21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for conducting elections.
The report highlights the “necessity” of holding the elections on the same day in light of the “heightened security situation” in the country. It also says the military will be ready to perform election duties by early October, without offering an explanation as to why the world’s sixth-largest army by active personnel is unable to perform its job when required.
“Due to the prevalent security situation and counter-terrorism operations being carried out in KP and Balochistan as well as the intelligence-based operations in Punjab and Sindh, the armed forces, Rangers, Frontier Constabulary and other forces are not logistically available to be repositioned and re-posted for providing election security, twice in a span of six months,” the report claimed.
“Significant time is required to prepare the members of the armed forces for the election duty, given much of the force has been actively engaged in operations for a considerable period of time,” the application said, observing the security situation in Punjab and Sindh has been stable in the light of the efforts of the ongoing operations in KP and Balochistan, respectively.
Therefore, any diversion of troops from KP and Balochistan will result in directly influencing the security situation in Punjab and Sindh, the report said.
Meanwhile, the government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has also defied a Supreme Court order to provide Rs21 billion to the election commission to conduct elections.
The court had directed the government to comply by 10 April, with the ECP ordered to report back on 11 April. However, the government referred the matter to Parliament, which refused to issue the funds.
Last week, the ECP submitted a sealed report to the court, which reportedly revealed the government’s reluctance to provide the necessary funds. The Supreme Court subsequently directed the SBP to release the funds and request the finance ministry’s approval.
However, on 18 April, the coalition government rejected its own demand for the supplementary grant. The finance ministry has since claimed that it is difficult to release the funds.
