ISLAMABAD, May 25: The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) has been working illegally for the last over two months after the government failed to bring the authority under the act of parliament or re-promulgate the ordinance under which it was established in November last, Dawn has learnt.

The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan Ordinance 2006, which was promulgated by President General Pervez Musharraff, had lapsed in March and the government made no efforts to legalise the establishment of the TDAP despite the fact the National Assembly remained in session.

Under the law, the government was bound to place the ordinance in the parliament for making it an act of parliament. The mandatory period for changing an ordinance into act of parliament is four months.

The ordinance through which the TDAP was established even did not have any provision, which can validate the functioning of the authority during the period in which the ordinance has lapsed. This means that the authority is working completely illegal while spending huge amounts from the national kitty.

An official in the finance ministry has questioned the spending of the TDAP in the absence of any legal cover. How will the authority legalise the spending which it made during the period ordinance had lapsed.

According to another official in the law ministry the new ordinance is being drafted and has been sent to the President’s Secretariat for promulgation.

He said that the new ordinance will include the provision of the retrospective effect to give legal cover to the spending made during the lapsed period of the ordinance.