On Sunday, a meeting of the federal cabinet was held, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at his Model Town residence. The meeting lasted for more than two hours, and no agenda was issued prior to the meeting.
Most cabinet members participated through a video link, while others joined in from Lahore.
During the meeting, a strategy to address the matters surrounding the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, as well as the release of funds to the Election Commission of Pakistan for holding elections in Punjab on May 14 as ordered by the Supreme Court, was discussed.
The cabinet members could not agree on the suggestion that the funds should be partially released to avert any adverse Supreme Court ruling, and the meeting referred the matter to parliament for further consultation. The meeting also approved the decisions taken by the National Security Committee (NSC) on Friday regarding anti-terrorism operations.
There was also some off-the-record discussion among the cabinet members, during which some members suggested not to compromise on the supremacy of parliament and proposed a hardline approach against President Arif Alvi.
In a hint that the government is not ready to hold the polls as per the top court verdict, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in Narowal that elections in the country would be held simultaneously in the month of October.
The government is confused about the “real verdict” since there are two apex court “verdicts”, one by four judges and the other by three. Justice Athar Minallah’s decision has raised many new questions.
The cabinet unanimously directed the finance ministry to consult the law ministry for preparing a summary to get guidance from the parliament on the matter and present it before the cabinet meeting to be held again on April 10 (today) for making a decision on the future line of action. The Sharif family is reportedly in the complete mood to defy the CJP-led three-member bench’s decision to hold elections in the province on May 14.
