Caretakers in Punjab, KP can’t approve budget for second time: Rabbani

ISLAMABAD: Ex-chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani in the Senate on Tuesday called the recent approval of the budget for next four months by the Punjab caretaker set-up a sheer violation of the Constitution and said graver crises would erupt if polls were not held in January or February next year.

Rising in seat after the recitation from the Holy Qur’an was over, he insisted on being given the floor as the matter he wanted to speak about was related to the House as well while Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani had called out the name of Senator Dilawar Khan to speak on a commenced motion regarding Palestine.

However, the chair gave him the floor and Rabbani said that in case of a constitutional violation, a snowball effect of more such violations took place and the first was that the elections were to be held within 90 days under Article 224 of the Constitution. As a consequence of that, the Punjab Assembly was dissolved in January this year and the last financial year was continuing and therefore, the caretaker government got the budget and in June approved the budgetary allocation for four months, up to October. He emphasized that it was the first and only such approval the caretaker government was allowed under Article 126 of the Constitution. A similar violation had been committed or was to be committed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker government which had already approved a four-month budget.

“…When the provincial assembly stands dissolved, the provincial government may authorize its expenditure from the provincial consolidated fund in respect of the estimated expenditure for a period not exceeding four months in any financial year,” he read out from the Article concerned to substantiate his contention. He said it meant the new expenditure approved by the Punjab caretaker government and the one already okayed or to be okayed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa set-up was flagrantly unconstitutional as they couldn’t be approved for a second time. Therefore, he emphasized, without taking more time, the Election Commission of Pakistan should announce as to when elections would be held as another major constitutional violation would take place if elections were not held in January or February. The half of the Senate would become dysfunctional otherwise on March 12.

“And, when this happens, it will be the biggest crisis, as half of senators will retire, your term as chairman Senate will also expire and that of the deputy chairman and hence there will be neither a chairman nor a deputy chairman, rendering the Senate completely dysfunctional,” he pointed out.