Pakistan's President, Arif Alvi, has refuted claims of approving two contentious bills that bolster the military's authority. He communicated via a post on X (previously Twitter) on Sunday, asserting that he returned the bills without signing them, but his staff circumvented his intention, BBC reports.
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
These two laws criminalize the disclosure of military intelligence officers' identities and propose imprisonment for defaming the armed forces. President Alvi's statement could potentially raise questions about the legality of these laws. Nevertheless, Pakistan's interim law minister, Ahmed Irfan Aslam, informed reporters that, by the constitution, the president had the option to either grant assent to the bills or refer them to parliament with specific observations.
He noted that instead of following this process, President Alvi purposely delayed granting assent and returned the bills without assent or observations. Aslam added that since the signed bills were not received from the president even after 10 days, they automatically became law. A gazette from the Senate Secretariat declared them "deemed to have been assented to by the president." These contentious bills were presented to President Alvi before the dissolution of parliament on August 9, initially aiming for elections in November.
However, the polls were postponed to February due to the electoral commission's need to redraw boundaries based on fresh census data. Pakistan currently operates under a caretaker government. Earlier this month, the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill sparked heated debates in the National Assembly. The former bill suggests a three-year imprisonment and a fine of up to $120,288 (10mn rupees) for disclosing the identity of an intelligence official, informant, or source.
The latter imposes a prison term of up to five years for revealing sensitive information pertaining to national security. Both the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the ruling party Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) coalition partners criticized the passage of these "draconian laws hastily" and without deliberation. The laws have led to the arrest of certain opposition members, including PTI vice chair Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was apprehended under the Official Secrets Act.
The PTI plans to challenge the disputed bills in the Supreme Court and expressed full support for the president. Arif Alvi is a founding member of PTI, led by former PM Imran Khan. Notably, Khan's arrest in May triggered violent protests targeting military cantonments. Since then, the party and its leaders have faced various charges, resulting in jail sentences for many.
Earlier in July, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a much-awaited $3bn bailout for the nation to prevent Pakistan from defaulting on its debt repayments.
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