• Party members walk out of NA over promulgation of SEZ ordinance ‘without president’s assent’
• Law minister says move withdrawn, insists PML-N enjoys cordial ties with PPP; blames error on ‘e-filing system’
• NA speaker formally starts process for opposition leader’s appointment, asks lawmakers for nominations

ISLAMABAD: After the PPP walked out of the National Assembly to protest an ordinance allegedly passed without the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari, the PML-N government retracted the said legislation that had brought both partners face-to-face in parliament.

The matter of the controversial legislation was pointed out by PPP lawmaker Naveed Qamar in the National Assembly, saying his party would not attend the proceedings till the issue was resolved, forcing the speaker to eventually adjourn the session after a PPP lawmaker pointed out the lack of quorum.

The PPP parliamentary party meeting was also summoned on Tuesday (today) ahead of the session to formulate its strategy regarding the ‘grave anomaly’ concerning the legislation on special economic zones. However, by Monday night, the government withdrew the contentious law ‘Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Ordinance 2026’ under Article 89(2)(b) of the Constitution.

In a statement, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar confirmed the withdrawal and blamed the mistake on the ‘e-filing’ system. He said under the e-office system, files were approved online and apparently, this was also marked approved. However, the ordinance did not have a signature when the files were received, he said, stressing that the government wanted to resolve issues amicably via dialogue.

Following his admission and the reversal, the PPP also called off its boycott.

Speaking about the ordinance, Mr Qamar told Dawn that the president, after receiving the bill, had consulted the party members who advised him to ask the government to reconsider the ordinance as some clauses were considered an encroachment on the provinces’ rights.

It may be noted that in Jan last year, PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla claimed that directives issued by the Presidency were not being heeded by the Prime Minister’s Office.

PPP boycotts session

Earlier, Mr Qamar said for the first time in Pakistan’s legislative history, an ordinance had been promulgated without the approval or the signature of the president, which was against the Constitution. “I do not know what is the government’s excuse for doing this?” he asked while speaking on a point of order.

As the PPP MNAs walked out of the house, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar attempted to placate them, requesting them to come back and join the proceedings. The law minister explained that an ordinance was issued on advice and “there is no doubt” that the president had given his assent. Mr Tarar insisted that Article 89 of the Constitution was subject to Article 48(1) of the Constitution, under which the advice of the prime minister was binding on the president.

He informed the house that “nine or 10 bills and ordinances” were pending presidential assent, and the ministry came to know only on Sunday that President Zardari had given his assent to those bills. He conceded that the ordinance in question may or may not be among the ones accorded assent by the president.

“We don’t say that we are going to pass an ordinance which has not been assented to by the president. […] There is something circulating on social media,” he said, adding that he would take up the issue with his ministry and would then inform the house.

Mr Tarar said the deeming clause was invoked under Article 75 of the Constitution when the bills returned by the president and passed by the parliament in a joint sitting were not assented to within 10 days. “But we never notified them out of respect for the president,” he remarked.

Opposition leader’s appointment

At the outset of the session, the speaker formally initiated the process for the appointment of the NA opposition leader and asked the opposition to re-submit the proposal for the nomination of the leader of the opposition.

The post has been vacant since August last year following the disqualification of PTI’s Omar Ayub by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). While the opposition has accused the government of delaying the appointment, Mr Sadiq maintained that the delay was because the matter was sub judice.

On Monday, Mr Sadiq said that as PTI’s Ayub had withdrawn his petitions in the Supreme Court and high courts against his removal, the nomination process could now be formally initiated.

“This issue had to head towards resolution only then. We would have done so if we had not been made a party [to the case],” he said. Addressing the opposition benches, he said proposals for nominating the opposition leader may be submitted in his chambers by 3pm today (Tuesday) as per Rule 39(ii) of the Rules of Procedure. He said the nomination should be accompanied by the signatures of members of the opposition.

It is worth noting that the opposition had submitted the name of Mahmood Khan Achakzai — who heads the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan — to the speaker’s office in October 2025 rather than presenting it to the speaker personally.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2026