A few days after obstructing the restructuring of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has demanded the caretaker government to refrain from going ahead with the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
In a letter to the cabinet secretary less than a week before the general election, ECP has directed that the caretaker government refrain from taking any further action, including signing an agreement in this regard until the Commission decides per Section 230 of the Constitution.
The ECP directed the government to provide all relevant documents prepared for Cabinet approval, including a comprehensive privatization program of PIA, as required by Clause 5(b) of the Privatisation Commission Ordinance, 2000, and Section 230 of the Constitution.
Last week, ECP conveyed to the Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to not go for major reforms in FBR and to keep it pending for consideration by the new to-be-elected government by virtue of General Elections 2024.
“The Election Commission of Pakistan, being responsible to conduct elections under Article 218 (3) of the Constitution, is also obligated to highlight the role and actions not to be performed by the caretaker Government in terms of Section 230 of the Act ibid,” ECP said in a letter dated January 30th.
It stated outright that the planned overhauling of FBR is a major policy decision that is the prerogative of an elected government.
In my opinion, I wanted to do it a long time ago, so much has been stolen, I cannot tell the country, everyone is a thief here