The presidential ordinance issued to grant indemnity to all actions taken by former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani between April 26 2012 and June 19 has been challenged in Supreme Court. It was apparently an unchallengeable presidential ordinance that provided blanket indemnity to all actions of Gilani from April 26 to June 19, 2012.
Petitioners Saeed and Shahid Orakzai, in a petition filed in apex court on Tuesday challenged the ordinance and argued that the president could not grant indemnity until the apex court decided the case. They said that Supreme Court had not yet given consequences of Gilani's post-disqualification actions, therefore President Asif Ali Zardari had granted unconstitutional indemnity to the former prime minister.
Moreover, they said the presidential ordinance undermined the parliament's legislative authority and judiciary's constitutional spheres. According to the ordinance, the decisions taken by Gilani can not be challenged in any court of law. The ordinance also stated that any agreements made by Gilani with other countries during the time between April 26 and June 19, 2012 would also be given constitutional protection.