Incumbent setup to present budget if polls delayed

Whether a caretaker government can allocate public monies without an Assembly’s consent remains to be seen

LAHORE:

With the fate of provincial elections still in doldrums, it is now a realistic possibility that come June, when the present financial year concludes, the incumbent caretaker setup will present the budget for Punjab.

However, since the exercise involves allocating public monies, it is unclear whether presenting a budget falls in the domain of a caretaker government, as the general understanding is that only an elected government has such authority.

This constitutional question, likely to turn into another constitutional crisis, is now pertinent to ask given the fact that for a budget to become effective it needs an Assembly’s approval. Ashtar Ausaf Ali, the former attorney general for Pakistan, was of the view that a caretaker government can present an interim budget. “Whatever budget the incumbent setup presents will be for the duration of its stay in office rather than a long term one,” Ali explained.

“Once an elected government comes into power, they will have the authority to change the budget as they deem fit,” he added. Azhar Siddique, a lawyer based in Lahore, while agreeing with Ali that an interim budget could be given by a caretaker setup, opined that the time to present a short-term budget was already up. “The caretaker government is only meant to last 90 days and during that duration if a need arises, they can present an interim budget to run daily affairs. However, the 90 day timeline is up, thus the caretaker government cannot present any budget now,” he said. Former provincial minister and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Punjab, Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan, agrees. “There is no scope for presenting a temporary budget now as the caretaker government’s 90 days are already up,” said Chohan, echoing Siddique’s interpretation of the Constitution. “The PTI has already written letters to the President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, and the Election Commission of Pakistan, to dismiss this government as its time is up,” the PTI leader informed. However, Ali, the former attorney general, disagrees with Siddique and Chohan’s interpretation of a caretaker setup’s duration of 90 days.

“The Constitution does not expressly state that a caretaker setup ends upon the completion of 90 days, rather a caretaker setup is supposed to continue until an elected government is sworn in.” While only time or a Constitutional Court will tell the fate of a budget presented by the caretaker government, The Express Tribune learnt from sources in the provincial finance department that presently suggestions were being collected from all government departments of Punjab vis a vis their budgetary needs. Furthermore, sources within the Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi led incumbent government confided in The Express Tribune that it is likely that a meeting will be convened in the next few weeks to discuss the formation of a budget; however, the caretaker cabinet has not given any directions in this regard, yet. On the other hand, renowned economist, Dr Salman Shah, feels that it makes little difference as to who presents the budget given the country’s dire economic situation.

“Our economic mess can only be solved with political unity. If the present political instability continues then it will make little difference who presents the budget because the populace will keep getting crushed by inflation,” predicted Dr Shah while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2023.