LAHORE - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) yesterday demanded the Supreme Court to initiate contempt proceedings against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal cabinet for not releasing funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa polls.
In a tweet, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said despite the apex court's orders, the State Bank of Pakistan's decision not to release funds is in violation of the laws.
The top court had directly ordered the central bank to provide Rs21 billion to the ECP for holding the polls in the two provinces till April 17 but despite the passage of the deadline, the funds have not yet been released.
"No parliament has the authority to prevent people from voting. Such a parliament can lay the foundation of a fascist government, but it cannot have anything to do with a democratic system," he said.
The PTI’s senior leader said in line with the Constitution, the parliament does not have any prerogative over the election expenses. In the tweets, the ex-information minister also mentioned that his party was focused on negotiations with the government, but the rulers were exhibiting a “non-serious” attitude in this regard. He added that the negotiations would be held in line with the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s orders, while noting that delaying the elections would be tantamount to subverting the Constitution.