The National Assembly of Pakistan Thursday rejected a bill that sought funding for provincial elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Standing Committee on Finance presented a report recommending not to approve the Charged Sums for General Election (Provincial Assemblies of the Punjab and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Bill, 2023.
Despite the Finance Minister and Revenue Senator Ishaq Dar moving a motion for the consideration of the bill, the House rejected the motion based on the committee’s recommendation.
The Finance Minister stressed the importance of legislation to transfer funds from the Federal Consolidated Fund, but the standing committee still did not approve it.
The Minister for Law and Justice, Azam Nazeer Tarar, also pointed out that Article 81 of the Constitution did not allow general expenditure from the Federal Consolidated Fund, necessitating specific allocation of funds for the purpose.
Earlier this week, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar introduced a money bill to provide funds for provincial elections. The finance minister presented the Election Funds Bill in the National Assembly.
The proposed legislation aims to provide support and reduce the expenses of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for conducting transparent and unbiased elections.
During the session, Dar emphasized the importance of developing the country after preventing it from defaulting. He mentioned that the economy faced significant challenges after the previous government was ousted.
