Parliament supreme, can enact any law, says Zardari

Karachi - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, in an apparent retort to remarks by Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, has said parliament has every right to enact laws of the Constitution, and would continue to do so in the future. He described parliament as supreme as it expressed the will of the people.

Zardari also indirectly rubbished an order by the Lahore High Court to cease using the presidency for political purposes by September this year, reports The Express Tribune.

He maintained that his office was a part of parliament under the Constitution and meetings with other parliamentarians since 'parliament was his constituency'. He added that no law barred the president from meeting his constituents.

"No one can bar me from meeting with elected representatives of PPP at the President House. You have elected me and I have become president because of your votes," he said.

He further said it was necessary for the system's stability that every state institution respected the mandate of other institutions. However, he remained calm about the situation, saying that, while some institutions may, at times, appear to be overstepping their mandate in developing democracies, this was part of the system's evolution and should not be a matter of concern.