he Punjab and Balochistan may see delays in getting their provincial budgets for the fiscal year 2022-23 because of the constitutional hitches. Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz has yet to form a cabinet and Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has just survived a no-confidence vote. The delay will impact development projects and relief efforts in both provinces.

Pakistan is already suffering political instability and an economic crunch. It is desperately looking for additional resources to stabilise the economy. A delay in the presentation and approval of the budgets in two provinces will add to the federal government’s difficulties.

The Punjab does not have a cabinet for technical and legal reasons. Punjab Assembly Rules read: “The Budget shall be presented to the Assembly on such day and at such time as the Governor may appoint.” Also, “The Budget shall be presented by the Finance Minister or, in his absence, by a Minister acting on his behalf.”

At the moment, there is no governor and no minister except the chief minister in the Punjab, although the chief minister has picked his ministers.

After the federal government removed the Punjab governor appointed by the previous government, a new governor could not be appointed as President Arif Alvi rejected the prime minister’s recommendation in this regard. Instead, he has insisted that the former governor, Umer Sarfraz Cheema of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf cannot be removed without his consent. After his refusal to accord assent to the removal of Governor Cheema, the Cabinet Division issued a notification about the removal of the governor. Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, the speaker of the provincial assembly, was asked to take over as acting governor. However, Elahi, aspiring for the office of chief minister, refused. He also foiled the ruling party’s bid to remove him from the office of speaker by convening on May 22 a session that had earlier been scheduled for May 30. The PML-N and its allies, who had moved the no-confidence motion, were unable to reach the session in time and the motion was dismissed.

The federal government sent another reminder to President Alvi on the appointment of the governor. On March 23, it issued a notification that said, “The Cabinet considered the summary dated 23rd May 2022 submitted by the Cabinet Division, which was circulated in terms of Rule 17(1)(b) read with Rule 19(1) of the Rules of Business, 1973 for ‘Appointment of Governor of the Punjab’ and approved the appointment of Baligh Ur Rehman as Governor of the Punjab, with immediate effect.”

Hopes have been raised that Pakistan will soon see a measure of political stability and that economic stability will follow. However, the long march by the PTI, clashes between law enforcement agencies and the PTI activists and the IMF conditions for the next loan tranche have increased uncertainty that will impact the budgets of all provinces.

The provincial cabinet will be announced as soon as Rehman assumes office and administers the oath to the ministers. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court has been approached to order restoration of Governor Cheema to his office on the plea that he needs only the president’s ‘pleasure’ to remain in office and not the prime minister’s approval. The IHC has resolved to hear and adjudicate the case urgently.

Still, the provincial budget might be a bit late in coming as Speaker Elahi looks likely to use rules of business to advance the PTI’s cause. Though the PML-N and its allies have vowed to bring a no-confidence motion against the speaker soon, Elahi can use the speaker’s powers to thwart the ruling party’s plans.

Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz is known to have directed his team to start preparing the budget proposals. On May 24, he presided over a meeting at his office and asked them to provide maximum relief to the people in the upcoming budget. He also told them to pay special attention to southern Punjab and increase allocations for the region.

Highly informed sources say, the budget-making process, is moving at slow pace despite the chief minister’s interest and supervision. “The CM sought guidance from his father, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who told him to engage some of the bureaucrats and economists who had worked with him in the past,” said a source.

In this connection, the CM has ordered some important transfers and postings.

In Balochistan, the threat of a no-confidence vote loomed against Chief Minister Bizenjo. Former chief minister Jam Kamal and former governor, Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind, two big shots of Balochistan’s political arena, had joined hands against Mr Bizenjo and tabled a no-confidence motion with the help of some members from Balochistan Awami Party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Awami National Party. The original motion was signed by 14 members of the Balochistan Assembly. On Wednesday, a session was convened for further proceedings on the motion where 13 members of the mover’s group were required but only 11 stood up on the call of the speaker. The speaker then dismissed the motion, ruling it ineffective. Since CM Bizenjo has just survived a bid for his ouster and was engaged in mustering support of the dissidents from his party, he could not pay wholehearted attention to the budget-making process. He had directed his team to lay the groundwork for it but could not supervise it, says a close aide to the CM. “We will present the budget within June but it might face a bit of a delay,” he adds.

Last year, Sardar Usman Buzdar-led Punjab government had presented the budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 with an estimated total outlay of Rs 2.653 trillion, including an Annual Development Programme (ADP) worth Rs 560 billion.

The Balochistan government under then chief minister Jam Kamal had, last year, approved a Rs 570 billion budget.

Hopes have been raised that Pakistan will soon see a measure of political stability and that economic stability will follow. However, the long march by the PTI, clashes between law enforcement agencies and the PTI activists and the IMF conditions for the next loan tranche have increased uncertainty that will impact the budgets of all provinces. The masses are likely to get very little or no relief in the current scenario. A potential solution lies in the hands of the provincial governments should they generate their own funds and utilise them for the welfare of their people.

The author is a senior journalist, teacher of journalism, writer and analyst. He tweets at @BukhariMubasher