How ordinance can be brought bypassing parliament, asks IHC

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday directed the secretary law and justice to submit a written reply within two weeks to a petition challenging the promulgation of eight presidential ordinances.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition filed by the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Barrister Mohsin Nawaz Ranjha.

Barrister Ranjha said the high court had sought a reply from the federal government within 14 days but no reply was submitted despite the passage of one and a half months. He further argued that new ordinances were being issued despite that a case was under trial, which was a violation of the Constitution. “The Constitution allowspromulgation of ordinances only in emergency circumstances,” he added.

To this, Justice Minallah asked as to how the federal government could bring an ordinance bypassing parliament. He asked if the government had taken back its ordinances or not. He also questioned the counsel to name the latest ordinance passed by the government.

To this, Ranjha replied that an ordinance was promulgated by the government related to an amendment to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws. He said around 2,500 ordinances had been issued so far since the formation of Pakistan. “Parliament is the actual place where lawmaking has to be done,” said Ranjha.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Minallah appointed Makhdoom Ali Khan, Babar Awan, Raza Rabbani and others to assist the court in the case. The court ordered secretary law to submit a report within 15 days and adjourned the hearing.