Pakistan’s president says he was unaware of returned invoices, interim gov’t claims Junks – News18

Pakistan’s acting law minister Irfan Aslam and information minister Murtaza Solangi rejected The position of the president of Pakistan, Arif Alvi who was unaware that the invoices were returned to them. Aslam said that the government did not receive any bills from the presidency referring to the Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 and the Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023.

A standoff between the interim government and Pakistan’s president erupted last week after the former claimed the president approved changes to Pakistan’s Official Secrets Act and Army Act.

“According to article 75 of the Constitution, the president only has two options: either sign a bill or reject it; in case of refusal, he has to give reasons to return the unsigned notes,” Aslam was quoted as saying by the Pakistan-based newspaper. dawn.

Aslam highlighted the legal and constitutional position of the two bills, saying that the interim establishment did not receive either of the two bills from Alvi’s office as both bills have now become law.

The acting law minister pointed out that Pakistani President Alvi did not exercise the options available to him and kept the bills pending in the presidency, meaning that after the passage of 10 days they automatically became laws.

Information Minister Solangi said they will not take any action against the president. “The sanctity and respect of the office of the president do not allow us to make such a move. No action can be taken against him until he is in his office,” Solangi was quoted as saying by dawn.

Aslam pointed out that the Pakistani Constitution does not allow the return of bills without any remark or assent. “Such a course of action goes against the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” he said.

Pakistani President Alvi claims that he asked his staff to return the unsigned bills within the stipulated time to render them ineffective, but on August 19, Pakistani media reported that Alvi gave his consent on Saturday to the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill 2023 and to the Pakistan Army. (Amendment) Bill 2023.

“As God is my witness, I did not sign the Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 and the Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 because I did not agree with these laws. He confirmed from them many times that they had been returned and was assured that they were. However, today I found out that my staff undermined my will and my command,” Alvi said on Sunday.

Section 6-A of the Official Secrets (Amendment) Act 2023 states that revealing the identities of intelligence agency members, informants or sources without permission will result in a prison sentence of up to three years and a fine of up to PKR 10 million.

The amended Army Act will subject persons found guilty of divulging any officially obtained confidential information to five years of rigorous imprisonment.