Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi said on Sunday he had refused to sign into law two bills that would give authorities more power to prosecute people for acts against the state and military, a move the law ministry said was unconstitutional.
Pakistani President Arif Alvi, former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Caretaker PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakkar.
The bills have already been passed by both houses of Pakistan’s parliament but Alvi is a member of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which opposes the coalition government that passed 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,” Alvi said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I confirmed from them many times 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 affected,” he added. Alvi gave his proclamation after it was reported that he had given assent to the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023 on Saturday. However, the Pakistani president stated that his staff worked against his command.
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. I asked my staff to return the bills unsigned within stipulated time to make them ineffective. I confirmed from them many times that…
— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) August 20, 2023
He said he had asked his staff to return the bills unsigned to the legislature within the stipulated time to make them ineffective.
“However I have found out today that my staff undermined my will and command,” he said.
The Ministry of Law and Justice said the President’s decision was of “grave concern”.
“The President has two options: either give assent, or refer the matter to the Parliament with specific observations,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the President had not fulfilled either option. “Such a course of action is against the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” it said.
According to the Constitution, if the President doesn’t sign a draft bill or return it back with his observations or objections within 10 days after it has already been through the two houses it will become law.
“As the President didn’t sign and return the bill within 10 days, it became a law,” Caretaker Law Minister told a news conference.
Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said Alvi’s comments on his personal social media account had no authority because he did not send back any objections to the bills within the stipulated timeframe.
“It is just an attempt to create confusion. It has no legal value,” Solangi said.
Alvi’s statement came a day after his fellow Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi was arrested in connection with an FIR registered under the Official Secrets Act. The remarks by Alvi stirred commotion across Pakistan. While PTI stood up in Alvi’s support, the ruling regime demanded the president take accountability.
Law Ministry urges President to take accountability
Immediately after Alvi’s big revelation, Pakistan’s Ministry of Law and Justice issued a statement on Sunday and asked Alvi to take accountability, The Express Tribune reported. “As per Article 75 of the Constitution [of Pakistan], when a Bill is sent for assent, the President has two options: either give assent or refer the matter to the parliament with specific observations. Article 75 does not provide for any third option. In the instant matter, neither of the requirements were fulfilled. Instead, the President purposely delayed the assent,” the statement reads.
The law ministry made it clear that returning the bill without any observation is never an option. “Such a course of action is against the letter and spirit of the Constitution. If the President had any observations, he could have returned the bills with his observations like he did in the recent and distant past. He could have also issued a press release to that effect,” it furthered. The ministry noted that this way Alvi had “chosen to discredit his own officials”, The Express Tribune reported citing the law ministry.
PTI comes out in support
Meanwhile, Imran Khan’s PTI came out in support of Alvi stating that the Pakistani President’s tweet is extremely concerning. “Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has expressed deep concern over the president’s tweet. The President’s tweet is unusual, alarming and unimaginable in every respect,” the PTI wrote on X. “After the President’s tweet, a serious wave of anxiety has arisen in the entire nation. The president’s tweet has exposed to the nation the most deadly infection spreading from top to bottom in the state system,” the party furthered.
Official Secrets Act
According to the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, a person will be guilty of an offense if he intentionally creates a problem of public order or acts against the state.
In addition, if a person attacks or damages a prohibited place and the purpose of this is to directly or indirectly benefit the enemy, then it is also punishable.
Under the said amendment bill, the accused will be tried in a special court and a decision will be taken after completing the hearing within 30 days.
Army Act
The Army Act has provisions relating to the retirement of military personnel. According to this law, no military personnel will be able to participate in any political activity for two years after retirement, resignation or dismissal, while military personnel or officers performing duties related to the sensitive nature of duty shall not participate in political activities for five years after termination of service.
Leaked cypher controversy
The shocking revelation by President Alvi comes only a day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from his residence in the federal capital in the cypher leak case under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
The FIA has launched a thorough probe into the alleged “disappearance” of the diplomatic cypher, booking former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi under the recently enacted Official Secrets Act.
Well-placed sources told The Express Tribune on Saturday that the leakage of a classified document was a grave misconduct that has ignited concerns over national security.
The FIA’s Counter Terrorism Wing filed an FIR against the PTI chairman and the vice chairman on August 15. The sources said that the act of leaking sensitive content is a blatant violation of the Official Secrets Act. “The case will be pursued as the relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act,” they added.
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