LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court Tuesday directed the Punjab Finance Department to equally distribute funds for development schemes among minority members of the Punjab Assembly.
Shunila Ruth, a minority member of the Punjab Assembly from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had filed an inter court appeal in the court. The bench directed the finance secretary to give equal treatment to the development schemes submitted by both ruling party and opposition members of the assembly.
During the hearing, a representative from provincial assembly secretary appeared before the bench, and said that they had no interference in grant of funds to MPAs. He said that the Finance Department was unable to produce any standard operating procedure regarding distribution of funds.
Appellate counsel Sheraz Zaka submitted that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led provincial government treated members of the opposition indiscriminately while disbursing Christian grant and other funds among the MPAs elected on reserved seats for minorities. He said, “Christian MPAs of ruling party were getting Christian grant, but the petitioner [Ruth], the only Christian MPA under reserved seats from the PTI, was being treated in a discriminatory manner.”
He submitted that the ruling party MPAs had been exclusively granted funds and their development schemes were being given preference to the development schemes of opposition party MPAs. He pleaded that it was violation of fundamental rights of citizens, who have been deprived of development schemes, where MPA s from opposition party were elected.
He said that if opposition party were deprived of funds then the ruling party MPAs must not have granted any such privilege.
“Every year the Punjab government constitutes a quota of funds for development schemes for minorities, and this year too, a quota was again constituted comprising MPAs belonging to Christian community in accordance with the list of development schemes submitted by each MPA.”
He said that the appellate had been subjected to a discriminatory treatment, as quota with respect to development schemes for minorities was allocated to every minority MPA.
He said the single bench of the LHC failed to understand his petition and dismissed it.
He requested the court to set aside the single bench verdict, which had dismissed his petition, and order the government not to discriminate the opposition members while distributing Christian grant.
