Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday questioned the scope of the president’s authority to promulgate ordinances. During the hearing of a petition challenging the promulgation of eight ordinances by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah observed that Article 89 of the Constitution empowered the president to promulgate an ordinance in times of war or national emergency. When Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar quoted colonial laws to defend the federal government’s move, the IHC top judge directed him to cite the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan in arguments to satisfy the high court.
