PM advises withdrawal of SEZ ordinance issued sans president's nod

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sent a summary to the President advising the withdrawal of the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Ordinance 2026, invoking Article 89(2)(b) of the Constitution, it emerged on Monday.

The decision was taken after it emerged that the ordinance had been issued despite lacking the president's formal signature.

According to sources, the prime minister has signed the summary recommending that the ordinance be withdrawn.

The development comes after objections raised by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which had staged a walkout from the National Assembly session when the ordinance was promulgated.

With the withdrawal now initiated, the federal government has decided that the proposed amendments will be introduced in parliament in the form of a bill.

Law ministry sources said that six bills and one ordinance had earlier been forwarded to the presidency through the e-Office system, under which summaries and files are approved electronically.

The presidency, through the same system, gave collective approval to the bills and the ordinance, following which the ordinance was issued.

However, when the files were returned from the presidency, it was found that the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Ordinance did not bear the president's signature. Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar explained that the approval process was conducted through e-Office, where files are processed online.

He said the ordinance had also been approved through this system and was treated as approved on a staff-to-staff basis.

However, when the signed files were later received, it became clear that the ordinance had not been signed by the president, even though it had already been printed and notified.

Tarar said the lapse amounted to a mistake, which was subsequently corrected.