Govt withdraws SEZ ordinance after PPP walkout over lack of presidential approval

In an interesting turn of events, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sent a summary to President Asif Ali Zardari, advising the withdrawal of the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Ordinance 2026.

The move follows a walkout by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) during National Assembly proceedings on Monday, raising concerns that the ordinance was issued without the president's signature. The advice was issued under Article 89(2)(b), which grants the president the authority to withdraw an ordinance following the recommendation of the prime minister.

The prime minister signed the summary for the ordinance’s withdrawal. The decision comes after PPP members staged a walkout, citing the lack of procedural legitimacy and questioning the validity of the ordinance, which was issued without the president's endorsement.

According to sources within the Ministry of Law, six bills and one ordinance, including the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Ordinance, were sent to the President’s office for approval.

The approval process was conducted through the e-office system, with all the bills and ordinances being approved collectively via the platform. However, when the files were returned from the President’s Office, it was discovered that the president had not signed the Special Economic Zones Ordinance. In response to the oversight, the federal government has decided to withdraw the ordinance. It will now be presented in Parliament as a bill for further discussion and legislative approval.

Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar explained that with the current e-office system, file approvals are done online. The approval for the ordinance was also processed through e-office, and it was understood as being approved from staff to staff. However, when the signed files were received, it was found that there were no signatures on the ordinance. The printing had already been done, and this was an oversight that has now been corrected.

He also highlighted the strong relationship between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), noting that this played a role in the decision to withdraw the ordinance. He assured that future matters would be handled with mutual understanding and cooperation between the parties.

Earlier in the day, the PPP strongly criticised the ruling government for issuing an ordinance without the approval of President 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 Tarar acknowledged the PPP’s concerns and assured that the matter would be reviewed.

He said the ordinance is issued on the advice, and there is no doubt that the president must assent to it. "It has been brought to our notice that something is circulating on social media… there were actually nine or ten bills and ordinances pending assent with the Presidency for so many days, and just yesterday we were informed that the president has been pleased to grant assent to those bills and ordinances. May be it is part of that or not part of it," said Tarar on the floor of the lower house.

He further clarified that under Article 75, if bills passed in a joint sitting are not assented to within 10 days, a deeming clause is invoked, which deems them to have been assented to. "We have never notified any bills repecting the president unless they have been recieved by the president. The bills related to universities and others have been pending for a month, but we have not invoked the deeming clause, nor do we have any intention of it," he added.

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.

Meanwhile, the speaker informed the house that the process for appointing the opposition leader would commence under the rules, noting that earlier proceedings had been delayed due to court proceedings in which the opposition leader was a party. The speaker directed that the updated list of opposition members’ signatures be submitted by 3pm on Tuesday.

During the session, PTI Chief Whip Malik Amir Dogar informed the house that 76 PTI members had already submitted signed documents nominating Mahmood Khan Achakzai as opposition leader, following party instructions. He added that a notification for the appointment should be issued accordingly, while also agreeing to submit the list again as per the speaker’s instructions.

Despite attempts by the speaker and the law minister to persuade PPP members to remain in the house, the party continued its boycott. PPP lawmaker Syed Hussain Tariq pointed out the lack of quorum, and even after a 15-minute break, the assembly was unable to meet the required quorum. Consequently, the speaker adjourned the session until 11am on Tuesday.

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.