Supreme Court orders SBP to immediately release Rs21billion funds for Punjab’s polls

ISLAMABAD, April 14 (SABAH): The Supreme Court has directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to release Rs21 billion forthwith to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for holding polls in Punjab.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered this to the ECP here on Friday. The Supreme Court issued the order after the central government’s failure to release the necessary funds despite the court’s direction. The bench asked the SBP governor to release the amount out of the Federal Consolidated Fund.

Earlier, the court expressed resentment at the federal government for not releasing funds for elections in Punjab. The Supreme Court on Friday held in-chamber hearing on the issue of release of funds for the polls.

Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan and the Ministry of Finance officials appeared before the bench comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan.

The attorney general submitted before the bench that the federal government was helpless as Parliament had not authorised it to release funds for holding the polls.

The judges expressed their anger and made it clear that the court order would have to be obeyed. Before the start of hearing, Attorney General Mansoor met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who summoned him for consultations. Later, speaking to media, the AG said that the Parliament had stopped the government from releasing funds. The federal government, he said, had no authority to release funds. “How the government can release funds when parliament has barred it,” the AG said.

It may be remembered that on April 12, the Supreme Court had issued notices on the report of the Election Commission of Pakistan for non-issuance of funds by the government despite its directive to the federal government to release Rs21 billion for the elections in Punjab.