State Bank ‘allocates’ Rs21bn for polls

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan has allocated Rs21 billion for elections to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies on Supreme Court’s order and sought finance ministry’s nod to release the amount, SBP’s chief spokesman Abid Qamar told Dawn.

The court, on Friday, directed the State Bank to release Rs21bn to the Election Commission of Pakistan and submit a compliance report by Monday afternoon.

The SC had also fixed May 14 for elections in Punjab.

An approval of government is required to release the amount from the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF) while the government has to get National Assembly’s approval for its release.

“The required Rs21bn is not a real problem for the government that has already borrowed over Rs2 trillion so far from banks during FY23. The problem is political or constitutional, not money,” said a senior banker.