——– Claims did not assent to Bills amending Army Act, Secrets Law
——– Swears ‘as God is my witness’ I did not sign the Bills
——– Alleges his staff “undermined his will and command”
——– Law Ministry notes claims with “grave concern”
——– Says President should take responsibility for his own actions
ISLAMABAD: In a twist of events, President Arif Alvi denied Sunday signing Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023, claiming that his staff “undermined” his orders.
Alvi’s revelations came on microblogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, a day after he had assented to the two bills.
“As God is my witness, I did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 & Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 as I disagreed with these laws,” President Alvi said on X.
“I asked my staff to return the bills unsigned within stipulated time to make them ineffective. I confirmed from them many times that whether they have been returned & was assured that they were.” “However I have found out today that my staff undermined my will and command. As Allah knows all, He will forgive IA. But I ask forgiveness from those who will be effected,” he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that two PTI leaders — Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Imran Khan — were arrested after a first information report (FIR) was registered against them under Official Secrets Act for disclosing the contents of the diplomatic cipher for political gains on August 15.
The National Assembly, on July 31, passed the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aiming to penalise individuals with a potential five-year imprisonment term for disclosing sensitive information concerning national security or the armed forces.
Separately, the Official Secrets Act was greenlit just a few days before the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 7.
Following approval of the bills from both the Senate and National Assembly, a move that drew criticism from lawmakers belonging to both treasury and opposition benches, they were presented to the president for a final nod.
The president also faced stern criticism from his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), for signing the bills.
The Army Act paves the way for the punishment of up to five-year rigorous imprisonment to any person guilty of disclosing any information, acquired in an official capacity that is or may be prejudicial to the security and interest of Pakistan or the armed forces.
Its amendments would be applicable to serving and retired officers and personnel of the Pakistan Army, including inter alia, the power to grant commission, determine terms of conditions of service, carry out welfare activities, national development tasks and for other operational and institutional matters in the light of Supreme Court judgment.
The revised version of the Official Secrets Act empowers the FIA to conduct investigations against individuals suspected of violating it.
The amended bill also excludes the amendment which labelled an individual as an enemy for engaging with foreign agents.
An important insertion in the Official Secrets Act 1923 says that under this Act “the Investigation Officer shall be an officer of the FIA not below the rank of BPS-17 or equivalent and he shall be designated by Director General FIA. If Director General FIA deems necessary, he may appoint Joint Investigation Team consisting of officers of intelligence agen¬cies as he may appoint.”
According to the bill, the JIT will complete its inquiry within 30 days. The case relating to civil espionage will be investigated by the FIA or JIT. However, according to an amendment in Clause-B of Section 12, the punishment for an offence has been reduced from 14 to 10 years.
On the other hand, Alvi returns over a dozen bills
Last week, the president had returned over a dozen bills for reconsideration by Parliament. The returned bills had been passed by both houses of parliament at the fag end of the PML-N-led government’s term, and their fate will be decided after general elections when a new National Assembly is in place.
These bills include the Code of Criminal Proce¬dure amendment bill seeking to enhance punishment for those who disrespect the Holy Prophet (PBUH), his companions and other religious figures.
The other returned bills include Press, News¬papers, News Agencies and Books Registration amendment bill, seeking to replace the word ‘federal government’ wherever occurring in the law with ‘Prime Minister’; the protection of Journalists and Media Professionals bill, seeking to transfer implementation of protection of journalists from Ministry of Human Rights to the Ministry of Information; and the National Commission for Human Development (Amend¬ment) Bill to redefine the functions of NCHD and make some amendments in its governing structure for efficiency and ease doing business.
Another bill that had been returned was Imports and Exports (Control) (Amendment) Bill 2023, aimed at addressing hardship cases, received from the business community and other quarters for one-time relaxation of import/export-related prohibitions and restrictions.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) bill seeking to enhance the term of HEC chairman to four years has also been returned by President Alvi. The other returned bills include public sector commission amendment bill, Pakistan Institute of Management Sciences Bill, Horizon University bill, Federal Urdu University amendment bill, NFC Institute, Multan amendment bill and National Institute for Technology bill. –Agencies
