Pakistani Finance Minister Warns Against Early Elections

Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar warned on Monday that "holding early elections in two of the country's provinces is not in Pakistan's interest due to the economic crisis and security situation." His comments challenge a ruling made by Pakistan's Supreme Court last week that mandates elections in those provinces, which also increases the risk of a constitutional crisis, adding to the ongoing political and economic turmoil in the country. The court set a deadline for the government on Monday to provide 21 billion rupees (73.4 million dollars) to the Pakistan Election Commission and requested the commission to submit a report by Tuesday. Dar introduced a new financial bill in an attempt to vote on whether to approve funding for the elections.