ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Law, Azam Nazeer Tarar explained that the misunderstanding that led to the withdrawal of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Ordinance was the propagation of a rumour that has been corrected.
Tarar explained to the media that the ordinance approval was executed via the e-office system, the online system used for all file approvals in Islamabad. He pointed out that while the ordinance was originally approved in the system, it was later found out that the signed copies of the ordinance had not been received.
“In the beginning, the file was interpreted to have been approved from one staff member to another,” Tarar elaborated. “Nevertheless, it was quite clear that the ordinance had not been signed when the signed documents were finally received.”
He stated that the printed material was already finished when the error was noticed, and it was promptly corrected. “This was an administrative error, and it was corrected promptly,” the law minister indicated.
Tarar continued to explain the process, stating that bills sent to the President after a joint session of Parliament are given ten days for review. “In any case, as a gesture of goodwill and in respect for the Constitution, the President has not yet notified the ordinance,” he said.
Concerning political relations, Tarar also mentioned that the good mood between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was a factor in the decision to retract the ordinance. “The collaboration between PPP and PML-N was, indeed, one of the factors in this decision,” he remarked.
