Official Secrets and Army Act Bills
ISLAMABAD: A senior lawyer has filed a petition in the Supreme Court about the controversial signing of the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Advocate Zulfiqar Bhutta urged the court to order an investigation into this matter. The petition named the federal government as the respondent in this case.
President Arif Alvi disclosed on Sunday that he had not signed the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill 2023 and the Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Bill 2023.
President Alvi also said that his staff defied his order and did not return both the Bills.
The petitioner has requested the court to direct the government to approach the Supreme Court within 10 days. Additionally, the petitioner has asked for an injunction against the implementation of these two laws until the plea is resolved.
The plea highlights that questions have arisen regarding the legality of the legislation following the President’s statement. Zafar Bhutta argued that the people’s rights are directly linked to the Official Secrets Act and the Pakistan Army Act.
Earlier, Advocate Mohammad Muqsit Saleem lodged a petition in the Lahore High Court on Monday challenging these two laws. He filed the petition after President Alvi’s statement that he had not signed the Bills.
The petitioner contended that the act was not passed in accordance with the proper legislative procedure.
Therefore, he urged court to suspend the Official Secrets Amendment Act until a final decision is reached.
President Arif Alvi reiterated on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he had not signed the Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 and the Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023.
He stated that he disagreed with these laws, and he affirmed this position with the declaration that God is his witness.
