There is news that the government
of Pakistan has sought permission of the supreme court of Pakistan to re-appropriate
Rs. 12.5 billion of development funds of the current budget to finance cost over-runs
or accelerated expenditures of some projects. Whereas it shows the ineptness of
the budget makers, it also shows the immaturity of the lawmakers.
In its judgment in December, 2013
in the case of dishing out 47 billion rupees to friends and family by the then
prime minister of the other party, the SC had held that discretionary funds of the
prime minister were unconstitutional and allocation and disbursement of
development funds should be done in accordance with articles 80-84 of the
constitution and according to established rules.
It is strange that the government
of Mr. Nawaz Sharif prefers to have the supreme court do the work of the
parliament. Why can’t the government introduce a supplementary bill to amend
the allocations of the budget for the current year? If there is some hitch, it
should move a constitutional amendment to make it possible.
It is a pity that both democratic
governments and military dictators in Pakistan give the judiciary the status of
a super-dictator when they need to get their own ill actions justified and then
try to cut it to size.
I hope that this time the Supreme
Court of Pakistan will not allow itself to be deceived and misused.
