NA rejects bill seeking funds for Punjab, KP elections

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly has rejected the bill seeking extra funds for election in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ARY News reported on Thursday.

As per details, the bill was presented by the federal minister for finance Ishaq Dar in the the National Assembly and the national assembly rejected the bill. 

The National Assembly standing committee on Finance and Revenue also unanimously rejected the bill seeking funds for Punjab and KP elections earlier today.

Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said that the funds are not in the budget that’s why the committee has rejected the bill. 

The member of standing committee Khalid Maqsi told the secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) “We apologize that you are going empty-handed.”

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance also rejected the fund’s bill for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

The chairman of the senate standing committee on Finance said that according to the deal with IMF, the funds are limited and extra funds cannot be released. 

Read more: FUNDS FOR ELECTIONS STILL NOT RECEIVED, ECP TELLS COURT

Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) told the court in a letter that they still did not receive the funds to conduct the Punjab elections.

The one-page report submitted Supreme Court was signed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other members.

The report mentioned a lack of funds and security for conducting elections in Punjab. The ECP informed the top court that they didn’t receive Rs21 billion yet, sources added.

It is important to mention here that a three-member bench of the Supreme Court declared the ECP’s order postponing the provincial assembly elections until October 8 as “unconstitutional” and ordered the government to release Rs21 billion funds for elections in Punjab by April 10