On April 10th, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not receive the 21 billion rupees funds as per the directions of the Supreme Court for holding the general election in Punjab. Instead, the government introduced the money bill 2023 titled “Charged Sum for General Election (Provincial Assemblies of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) Bill 2023” in the National Assembly. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar introduced the bill and said that the federal cabinet had decided to seek Parliament's will regarding allocation of funds for the general election in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Dar claimed that the government was taking measures to revive the loan program, and the country had repaid $12 billion in foreign debt since July 2022. He added that Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves stood at $9.60 billion, and a strategy had been devised to take the country’s foreign exchange reserves to $13 billion by June 30. Additionally, the government had improved its relations with friendly countries and international partners.
Dar also highlighted the government's policies to stop the illegal flight of capital from the country and end un-targeted subsidies while increasing funds for the Benazir Income Support Programme. He further mentioned that elections should be conducted across the country on the same day under the supervision of caretaker governments, reducing total expense and ensuring fairness and transparency.
Separately, the Senate passed a resolution seeking holding of general elections to all provincial assemblies and the National Assembly simultaneously "for strengthening the Federation." However, the passage of this resolution sparked a protest from the opposition party, billing it as another attempt by the coalition government to undermine the apex court's verdict. The resolution passed unanimously but with one vote against it, and it calls for general elections to be held simultaneously on time under caretaker setups under Article 224.
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