PPPP Senator Mian Raza Rabbani demanded that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) swiftly declare the date for the impending general elections.

In a passionate plea today at the Senate, he expressed concern over the looming constitutional crisis and emphasized the urgency of setting the election date, warning of potential disruptions to the functioning of the Senate.

“With the impending expiration of half the Senate’s membership in March 2024, an immediate announcement of the election date by the ECP is crucial to prevent a constitutional deadlock,” urged Senator Rabbani, addressing the Senate Chairman.

Senator Raza Rabbani articulated his concerns, warning of a potential constitutional crisis if the general elections are not scheduled for January or February 2024. He emphasized that this delay could render the Senate dysfunctional, with half of its members including Chairman and Deputy Chairman Senate set to conclude their terms in March 2024. Directing his attention to the Chairman of the Senate, Senator Rabbani underscored the critical implications, emphasizing the necessity of immediate action to avert a constitutional deadlock.
Highlighting the implications of the constitutional provisions, Senator Rabbani also criticized the recent approval of the budget by the Punjab Cabinet for the second time, citing Article 126 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He underlined the importance of adhering to the constitutional framework and emphasized the imperative need for a transparent and accountable governance process.
Article 126 of the Constitution, which outlines the power to authorize expenditure when the Provincial Assembly is dissolved, explicitly states, “Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions relating to financial matters, at any time when the Provincial Assembly stands dissolved, the Provincial Government may authorize expenditure from the Provincial Consolidated Fund in respect of the estimated expenditure for a period not exceeding four months in any financial year, pending completion of the procedure prescribed in Article 122 for the voting of grants and the authentication of the schedule of authorized expenditure in accordance with the provisions of Article 123 in relation to the expenditure.”
It is to mention that the government presented a four-month budget earlier this year in June under the relevant clause of the Constitution with the signatures of the caretaker chief minister as it lacked the authority to approve a full-year budget in the absence of an elected government.

For the second time, the Caretaker Punjab Cabinet approved a surplus budget of Rs2.07 trillion last day which according to Senator Mian Raza Rabbani is not as per constitution.
He said that similar situation is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Caretaker government has no jurisdiction to present budget for the second time.