Army Act and Official Secrets Act bills now become laws: minister

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Minister of Law and Justice Ahmed Irfan Aslam, has stated that President Arif Alvi has not returned the Army Act Amendment Bill and Official Secrets Act Amendment Bills to the parliament and both the bills, approved by both houses of parliament, have now become laws.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday, Minister Ahmed Irfan, accompanied by Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, emphasised that the president is the head of the federation and holds a position of immense respect. However, as per constitutional procedures, the bills sent back by the president’s office have already been enacted as laws.

He stated, “We will confine ourselves to facts and the law. The interim government does not possess any political mandate. Whatever the president’s intention is, he is fully aware of it himself.”

Minister Irfan highlighted that the president’s tweet pertains to the two bills. “The Army Act Amendment Bill was sent to the president on August 2, and the Official Secrets Act Amendment Bill was dispatched on August 8, following parliamentary approval.”

As per Ahmed Irfan, “The president has two options. Either he approves it or he sends it back with specific observations. If he has any recommendations, he has to provide them in written form.”

Minister Irfan mentioned that Article 75 of the Constitution offers two options to the president. He can either sign it within 10 days or exercise his second option. “He would take either the first or second path as per the constitutional Article 75.”

He stated, “We have not witnessed such a situation before where a bill has been returned without the president’s signature. The president’s action of not returning any bill without an observation or approval bears testament to his breach of the spirit of the Constitution.”

Referring to the recent tweets by President Arif Alvi, Minister of Information Murtaza Solangi commented that no disturbance arose from the president’s tweets. He pointed out that Minister Ahmed Irfan’s clarification has elucidated the situation.

Earlier, President Arif Alvi said in a tweet that he did not sign the Official Secrets Act Amendment Bill 2023 and the Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023.

On Sunday, President Arif Alvi took to his Twitter account, asserting, “Allah Almighty is my witness that I have not signed them.”

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

Ministry of Law responds to President Alvi’s tweet

He mentioned that as he did not agree with these laws, he instructed his staff to return these bills without his signature during the stipulated time, in order to render them ineffective.

Earlier, the Ministry of Law and Justice had expressed deep concern over President Alvi’s tweet regarding his comments on the Army Act Amendment Bill and Official Secrets Act Amendment Bill.

According to the ministry, the statement further outlined that under Article 75 of the Constitution, when a bill is sent to the president for approval, the president has two options: to sign it or send it back to the Parliament with specified observations. Article 75 of the Constitution does not provide a third option.

The Ministry of Law and Justice further stated that in the current scenario, the president did not fulfill the constitutional requirements of Article 75.

He intentionally delayed the approval of the bills, leading them to become laws. The President’s action is contradictory to the spirit of the Constitution and raises concerns, it said.

As per the law ministry, Article 75 dictates that if the president sends back the bills for approval to the Parliament, he has only two choices: to provide consent or return it with specific observations. If within ten days the President does not grant approval, the bill becomes law in the form of an Act.