Sources say ordinance in question is Special Economic Zone Ordinance, but law ministry unsure if approval was bypassed
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has strongly criticised the ruling government for issuing an ordinance without the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari. The move sparked outrage and prompted a walkout by PPP members in the National Assembly.
Led by Syed Naveed Qamar, PPP lawmakers staged the walkout in protest against the notification, which was reportedly issued without the president’s signature. The walkout left the assembly without a quorum, delaying proceedings by 15 minutes.
Qamar described the day as the “darkest in parliamentary history,” emphasising that no previous incident in Pakistan’s history involved an ordinance being issued without the president’s approval. “This is an unprecedented event, and we will not accept it,” he said, adding that it undermines the constitutional process.
In response, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar acknowledged the PPP’s concerns and assured that the matter would be reviewed. He noted that conflicting reports had been circulating on social media regarding the ordinance.
Sources indicated that the ordinance in question is the Special Economic Zone Ordinance; however, the Ministry of Law remains uncertain whether such an ordinance was indeed issued without the president’s approval.
Read More: Islamabad Local Government Act amended, city polls reset
Earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari issued an ordinance amending the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, reshaping the federal capital’s local government structure and forcing another reset of the city’s delayed municipal election process.
The Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, was promulgated on January 9 and published the next day, according to the gazette notification.
The ordinance replaces the “Metropolitan Corporation” model with “Town Corporation” structures across the law. It requires Islamabad to be divided into three Town Corporations, each aligned “as far as practicable” with the territorial limits of a National Assembly constituency.
Each Town Corporation will contain as many union councils as the federal government notifies, with Union Councils to be delimited based on population equality and administrative convenience, using the latest official census.
