The ordinance issued by President Asif Ali Zardari to give constitutional cover to the actions of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani after April 26 has been challenged in the Supreme Court. On June 24, President Asif Ali Zardari issued an ordinance to validate orders, directions, instruments, MOUs and national and international commitments made by former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani from April 26 to Jun 19. The petitioner said President Asif Ali Zardari had violated the constitution by issuing the ordinance. The two-page ordinance clearly said it could not be challenged at any forum, including the Supreme Court. However, petitioner Shahid Orakzai said in his plea that the order was an attempt to curtail the judiciary’s powers. The petitioner stated that the promulgation was a multiple breach of Article 89 and violated many of its provisions. Above all, it violated Clause (2) of the article as it ignored the restrictions imposed by the Constitution on the power of parliament to make law. The petitioner requested that the hearing of Bhutto reference should be stalled until the ruling on his plea was delivered.
