Petition challenging Official Secrets Amendment Act lands in LHC

A miscellaneous petition challenging the Official Secrets Amendment Act, 2023 has been submitted to the Lahore High Court, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The high court has been prayed to suspend the Official Secrets Act until it makes a final decision on the petition.

The petition has made federal government, federal law and interior ministries respondents in the case.

The petition was filed by Advocate Muhammad Maqsat Saleem in the Lahore High Court on Monday.

The petition states that as per the President’s statement, he did not sign the Official Secrets Act. The Act did not pass through a proper procedure.

The Official Secrets Amendment Act is ultra vires, the petition states adding that the Act assigns unconstitutional powers to police and other law enforcement institutions to enter the house of any citizen without warrants.

Under this Act, it is not obligatory to produce the arrested person in a magistrate’s court.

The petition says that Article 4 and Article 19-A guarantee the protection of citizens’ freedom and their basic rights.

Yesterday, President Dr Arif Alvi said that he did not sign the Official Secrets Amendment Bill, 2023 and the Pakistan Army Amendment Bill, 2023 as he disagreed with these laws.

President Alvi shared a post on the X platform (formerly Twitter) in which he wrote: “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 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.”

On the other hand, in a joint press conference, interim Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam and Information Minister Murtaza Solangi rebuffed the president’s stance that he was unaware whether the bills had been returned or not.

Giving their legal and constitutional position on the two bills, Aslam said the government had not received any of the two bills from the presidency, and thus both have become law.

“Under Article 75 of the Constitution, the president only has two options: either to sign a bill or reject it; in case of rejection, he has to give reasons for returning the bills unsigned,” he said, adding that if the president does not avail any of the two options, a bill becomes a law after the lapse of ten days”.

 

Reporter Malik Ashraf