Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) terming the rule by Ordinances undemocratic and an affront to 342 members of the National Assembly and Senate called upon the Chairman of the Senate and the Speaker of National Assembly to assert the constitutional role of the parliament of legislation which has been snatched by the selected. We also reject all the laws promulgated by the President in their present form as they have not been approved by the parliament
The ordinance factory is working overtime while the parliament has been virtually shut down as 8 ordinances were manufactured in the Presidency overnight. And More than 20 ordinances have been promulgated by the selected coterie in the past one year.
Apart from bypassing parliament, the government has violated the spirit of the constitution as well. According to Article 89(1) of the Constitution an ordinance can only be promulgated if both houses are not in session and if the President considers the matter urgent and necessary. The last 8 ordinances concerned court dresses, changes in civil procedure code, changes in family law, none of which were urgent matters. In addition the NAB ordinance is a law reeking of dirty victimization which parliament would not have passed. It’s an absolute shame that National Assembly sessions are cancelled so that the ordinance is brought thereby making a mockery of the legislative body.
Since occupying office, the PTI government has turned its back to the parliament. Instead of submitting, and debating bills in parliament and then converting them into laws with the majority vote after they have gone through the rigorous scrutiny of the Standing Committees, the Prime Minister, along with his incapable cabinet, has been churning out half cooked ordinances which ordinarily would not go through the parliament in present form. Thus, the parliament has virtually been rendered ineffective.
The Pakistan Peoples Party empowered the parliament in its five year rule but the PTIs selected government has ironically made the system collapse into a quasi presidential one.
We reject these underhand methods and warn the government that marches and movements against this selected system undermining the parliament will only increase with the passage of time if democratic institutions are suppressed.
