Pakistan's deputy prime minister says declaration of state of emergency was constitutional

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday defended the emergency proclamations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying the Constitution clearly laid down the procedure and the government had followed it. Speaking at a joint sitting of Parliament, he said Article 232 of the Constitution allowed the president to declare an emergency under specific circumstances. Referring to the second proviso to Article 232(1), he said a proclamation issued by the president on his own had to be placed before both Houses of Parliament for approval within 10 days. He said the required constitutional procedure had been followed. Dar also explained Article 234, saying a proclamation issued under this provision had to be placed before a joint sitting of Parliament and would remain in force for two months. He said the joint sitting could extend the proclamation for further periods of up to two months at a time, but it could not remain in force for more than six months.
Read the full article here: The Nation