In a startling turn of events, President Arif Alvi said on Sunday that he did not sign the bills amending the Official Secrets Act and the Pakistan Army Act into law as he “disagreed with these laws”. He alleged that his staff “undermined” his will and command.
In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Alvi said: “As God is my witness, I did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill, 2023 and Pakistan Army Amendment Bill, 2023 as I disagreed with these laws.”
The president said he asked his staff to return the bills unsigned within the stipulated time to make them “uneffective”.
“I confirmed from them many times that whether they have been returned and 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 Insha’Allah. But I ask forgiveness from those who will be affected,” the president said.
So far, the President House has not released a statement.
According to a Dawn report, Alvi had given his assent to the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023 on Saturday, allowing the pieces of proposed legislation to become acts of Parliament.
Both the bills were approved by the Senate and National Assembly and sent to the president for his approval amid criticism by opposition lawmakers a few weeks ago.
Section 6-A of the secrets act creates a new offence of unauthorised disclosure of the identities of members of intelligence agencies, informants or sources. The offence would be punishable by up to three years in jail and a fine of up to Rs10 million.
The Army Act paves the way for the punishment of up to five-year rigorous imprisonment to any person guilty of disclosing any information, acquired in an official capacity that is or may be prejudicial to the security and interest of Pakistan or the armed forces.
One of the amendments in the act accords more powers to the army chief and barred ex-servicemen from engaging in politics as well as taking up ventures, which could come into conflict with the army’s interest. It also proposed imprisonment for defamation of the army.
The new law also forbids any person subject to the army act from engaging in any kind of political activity for two years from the date of their “retirement, release, resignation, discharge, removal or dismissal from the service.
The president’s statement comes a day after PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi was picked up in connection with a first information report registered on Aug 15 under the Official Secrets Act against the former foreign minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
The case was registered after an American news outlet The Intercept recently published what was claimed to be the diplomatic cable which had reportedly gone missing from Imran’s possession.
Imran, who was interrogated by Federal Investigation Agency a few days ago in the cipher case in Attock jail where he was lodged after his conviction in the Toshakhana case, claimed he was ousted from office last year under a “US conspiracy”. The PTI alleges that cipher contained the threat from the United States to oust Mr Khan from power.
Last week, the president had returned over a dozen bills for reconsideration by Parliament. The returned bills had been passed by both houses of parliament at the fag end of the PML-N-led government’s term, and their fate will be decided after general elections when a new National Assembly is in place.
Law ministry notes claims with ‘grave concern’
The law ministry expressed “grave concern” over the president’s post and said he should “take responsibility for his own actions”.
In a press release, it said “as per Article 75 of the Constitution, 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.”
It noted that in the instant matter, neither of the requirements were fullfiled. “Instead, the President purposely delayed the assent,” it alleged. “Returning the bills without any observations or assent is not provided for in the Constitution. Such a course of action is against the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” it added.
It said 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 is a matter of concern that the president has chosen to discredit his own officials. The president should take responsibility for his own actions,” it concluded.
‘Tumultuous times ahead’ as legal experts weigh in
Meanwhile, legal experts also weighed in on the development and its implications.
Lawyer Usama Khawar recounted the process of how a bill becomes law after being passed by the Senate and National Assembly and then being signed by the president.
However, in the “present controversy”, he said the president was placed in a “powerful position” due to the dissolution of the National Assembly. “If he returned the bills, he would essentially have killed them because there was no National Assembly to pass the bills,” he said.
“Alleged committing of a forgery of presidential assent is a new low in our statecraft and politics. This is worrisome at so many levels. If the president, who in theory is the highest official of the state — his status is so high that according to the Constitution, all the executive authority of the Federation is to be exercised in the name of the president and he is commander in chief of the armed forces — is not safe from forgery, then it does not bode well for the health of the rest of the state,” Khawar said.
He also said that in case of a constitutional challenge to the validity of the two laws, there now existed strong legal grounds for the court to declare that the Official Secrets (Amendment) Act, 2023, and Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Act, 2023 were not validly enacted acts.
“The president should initiate criminal and disciplinary proceedings against the officials of the President House. Forgery is a criminal offence under Pakistan Penal Code and carries a penalty of imprisonment for seven years.
” The president’s seriousness about this issue would be gauged if he initiates if he initiates criminal proceedings against his staff. Because just apologising to the victims of these anti-democratic and expansive laws is not sufficient.
“Moreover, the President should also communicate this forgery to the legislative branches, the Senate and the Assembly Secretariats, executive branches, Cabinet Secretariat, the relevant ministries — law and defence — and to the Printing Corporation of Pakistan to not publish the forged acts in The Gazette of Pakistan,” Khawar said.
Lawyer Basil Nabi Malik said the situation was “troubling to say the least”. “With that said, without his consent as president, it cannot be said that the bills in question have passed into law. Tumultuous times ahead,” he observed.
Barrister Rida Hosain said that the Constitution sets out a clear procedure for the passage of bills and explained how Article 75 works. “Under Article 75, the president can within 10 days either assent to a bill or return it to parliament with a message that the bill be reconsidered,” she said.
“If the president decides to return the bill, there are two stages: the first stage is returning the bill to parliament for reconsideration under Article 75(1)(b). The second stage is a joint sitting of parliament actually reconsidering the bill and (with or without amendment) passing it again under Article 75(2).”
She also explained the concept of “deemed assent” even if the president does not in fact give his assent. She said the deeming provision “only kicks in once the bill has been reconsidered and passed by parliament in a joint sitting under Article 75(2). There is no automatic deemed assent attached to an unsigned bill”.
Barrister Hosain added: The president claims he has not signed and assented to the Official Secrets Act and the Army Act amendments. Neither of these two bills were ever reconsidered and passed by parliament in a joint sitting. There can be no deemed assent in this case.
“If the President’s claims are true, neither of these laws are valid pieces of legislation.”
Barrister Asad Rahim Khan also noted that within the scheme of Article 75, “deemed assent is relevant to the second time the president is sent a bill, and not the first”.
He added: “As this was the first round, the president’s express assent was essential for the bill’s passage into law — anything less is to have returned it under Article 75(1)(b), which does not mandate that any specific provision be addressed.”
Politicians and journalists reacted with incredulity and despair at Alvi’s claims.
PTI leader Farrukh Habib called the development “extremely shocking” and akin to the “collapse of whole system”.
“Lawyers community of the country should stand up for the supremacy of the constitution now,” he added.
Former finance minister Ishaq Dar said the president’s remarks were “unbelievable” and urged him to resign on account of “having failed to run his office effectively”.
PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman said the president’s statement had raised questions about his capability to manage the presidential office.
“Does he want to say that someone else signs the bills under his nose? If this is so then the president should immediately resign from his office. If your staff is not in your control then leave the presidential office,” she said in a statement, adding that the president was no longer fit to continue in his constitutional position.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of the Jamaat-i-Islami said the post “has opened a new pandora box, if the situation is really like what the president has written, then it is an insult to the state of Pakistan, parliament, legislation, as well as 240 million Pakistanis”.
He added: “Matters will once again go to the courts. The situation of Pakistan can be estimated from this situation of the highest office. May Allah have mercy on Pakistan.”
PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui called on the president to resign. “President Alvi speak openly. If there was disagreement with the bills, why didn’t he register his objections? What was the purpose of sending back the bill without a yes or no? Why did he remain silent for two days despite the news [of the bills being signed] coming in the media?
“Now that he has spoken, the matter became more confusing. If his staff is not in his control, then [he should] resign and go home.”
Veteran PPP leader Farhatullah Babar said in fewer than 100 words, the president has done “what no one could do in the last decade”.
“OMG, in less than 100 words tweet Arif Alvi did what no one could do in last decade. Atomic bomb exploded. Besides immediate annihilation of many it’s lethal radiations will continue to kill and maim in years ahead. No matter what happens now Alvi earns deep respect of many.”
If president neither approves nor rejects a bill within a 10-day timeframe, the bill automatically assumes status of law: Caretaker Law Minister
Ahmed Irfan Aslam says we have no political affiliations & we will steer clear of political discussions
Shortly after President Dr. Arif Alvi refuted his endorsement of two pivotal pieces of legislation, namely the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023, Caretaker Minister for Law and Justice Ahmed Irfan Aslam claimed that if the president neither approves nor rejects a bill within a 10-day timeframe, the bill automatically assumes the status of law.
“The president had the option to raise objections to the bills within the stipulated timeframe but chose not to, leading to the automatic enactment of the bills into law,” the caretaker law minister said during a press conference alongside Caretaker Information and Broadcasting Minister Murtaza Solangi on Sunday.
He stated that the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill was received by the Presidential Palace on August 2, while the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill reached the president on August 8. “The president had only two choices: to approve the bills or send them back with objections. No third option exists, and if the bills are not returned, they become law automatically within ten days,” he added.
Ahmad Irfan Aslam noted that the president had a 10-day window to object to the bills, emphasising that in the past, similar bills were returned with objections after reconsideration. However, he pointed out that no instance had arisen where a bill was returned without objections or reconsideration. “The 10-day period serves the purpose of avoiding any constitutional crisis,” he added.
The law minister underlined that the caretaker government had no political agenda in this matter. He stated, “We have no political affiliations, and we will steer clear of political discussions.” He added that it would be inappropriate for the president’s staff to comment on this issue publicly.
He said President’s tweets are regarding the Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Bill that reached him for his assent on the 2nd of this month and Official Secrets Act that reached his office on the 8th of this month.
The caretaker Law Minister said it has never happened before that President returned any bill without his signature.
He said there is nothing available in the Constitution to return the bills without signature or without recommendation or amendments. He said that the caretaker government has no political mandate so we would avoid political talk.
Responding to a question, Murtaza Solangi stated that there was no ambiguity regarding the matter, saying that through the press release and the press conference, the government had provided comprehensive clarification. He questioned why the president did not exercise his option to return either of the bills within the 10-day period.
To a question, he said that the government does not intend to take the record of the President’s Palace into its possession, declining to comment further on the issue.
Murtaza Solangi said there should be no ambiguity on the matter after the clarification of the Law Ministry. He said caretaker government’s mandate is limited to holding free and fair election instead of any political ambitions.
Murtaza Solangi said President being head of the federation is held in high esteem and is respectable to us, adding that we will not carryout any action which is against the law and constitution. He said that the current caretaker government has been installed under the constitution.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Law and Justice has noted with grave concern President Dr Arif Alvi’s recent tweet.
The Ministry in a press release stated that as per Article 75 of the Constitution, 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 was fulfilled. Instead, the President purposely delayed the assent.
Returning the bills without any observations or assent is not provided for in the Constitution. 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 is a matter of concern that the President has chosen to discredit his own officials. The President should take responsibility for his own actions.