ISLAMABAD: Despite removal of restriction by Islamabad High Court on ban on recruitment and execution of development schemes under directives of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), all ministries/divisions and attached departments have already surrendered funds to the tune of over Rs100 billion so execution of development projects could not be done in smooth manner after removal of ban.“The ministries/divisions have already surrendered funds to the tune of over Rs100 billion last month to Ministry of Finance so the latest verdict of IHC will not impact development schemes too much at this stage when the country will be heading towards next general election after expiry of tenure of the outgoing PML-N-led regime by end of ongoing month,” official sources confirmed to The News here on Friday.In order to comply with the instruction of the ECP, the Ministry of Finance had ordered all ministries/divisions to surrender their funds because the supplementary grants could not be adjusted and development funds could not be spent on scheme approved After April 1, 2018 so the ministries complied with the orders and surrendered their funds.Although, the Planning Commission’s Central Development Working Party had continued approving development schemes on the pretext that routine approving process of development projects could not halt under directives because they were approving projects of national nature which did not have impact on the constituency based politics. They took stance that projects of national importance could not be termed as part of pre poll rigging. A division bench of IHC had set aside an April 11 notification of the ECP through which the electoral body had stopped recruitment in the government departments and imposed a ban on development works. The ECP in its notification had instructed that all kinds of recruitment in any ministry, division, department or institution of the federal government or any department or institution of any provincial and local governments is banned forthwith, except recruitment by the federal or a provincial public service commissions. That all development schemes which have been approved with effect from 1st April, 2018 like installation of gas pipelines, supply of electricity, roads’ carpeting, water supply schemes etc. shall not be executed by the federal/provincial/local governments’ authorities. Moreover, the federal government, the provincial governments and the local governments shall not issue tenders of such schemes till conclusion of General Elections-2018. That diversion of funds already allocated to various development projects in the country is banned forthwith and the spending of funds so diverted shall stand frozen forthwith. Different ministries/division had approached the ECP for removal of this restriction on the basis of different arguments and even Chief Justice of Pakistan had ordered the IHC to take decision on legality of the ECP order in one week. Now the ECP gave verdict to this effect and allowed spending on development scheme.When contacted to one top official of Finance Division here on Friday, he said that they were waiting for detailed judgment after which they would be in better position to comment on this development.
from The News International - National
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