Islamabad – Staff Reporter:
The Election Commission dismissed Tuesday the petition challenging PM allocating funds to lawmakers before the Senate elections.
The commission said that the petition, filed by PPP’s Nayyer Bukhari, is not maintainable in the court
Sindh Member Nisar Durrani said that the petition was about the Senate elections and they have been held now.
Bukhari said that issuing development funds to lawmakers before the Senate election is a clear violation of the rules. PM Imran Khan assured MNAs that they will be given Rs500 million each. “He bribed them.”
The commission remarked that the case was heard in the Supreme Court too and asked about the court ruling.
The former Senate chairman said that the court disposed of the case after the government denied the allegation.
The Balochistan member pointed out that the Code of Conduct only mentions specific instructions for the president, governor, and not PM.
He violated Article 181 of the Constitution, Bukhari claimed. This is a contempt case and the PM can be imprisoned for up to three years. “You can’t announce any development work after the election date has been announced,” the PPP leader added.
Three PTI MNAs confirmed that Prime Minister Imran Khan “promised” to release Rs500 million development funds to party lawmakers.
Rubina Jamil, a PTI MNA from Punjab, said that PM Khan promised to increase the development funds to Rs500 million in the next budget. She said Rs150 million had already been released to the lawmakers.
Jamil said the announcement was made in a parliamentary party meeting and the decision was appreciated by the party lawmakers.
