Law Minister Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Monday announced that the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 – which aims to curtail the chief justice’s powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity – will become law on April 20, a private TV channel reported. Speaking to a private TV channel, the law minister said that the matter relating to the implementation of the law will be seen later. Referring to the top court’s order to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for the release of Rs21 billion from the funds held with it to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for holding polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the minister said that the procedure for approving the funds has been clarified in Article 81, 82, 84 of the Constitution. Under Article 84 of the Constitution, approving a supplementary budget is the prerogative of the National Assembly, the law minister said. “It will be a violation of the Constitution if the amount [Rs21 billion] is allocated without the approval of the National Assembly,” he added. Tarar added that the SBP has nothing to do with issuing funds, adding that it is the prerogative of the finance ministry and the parliament.
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