Advocate Shoaib Shaheen files a constitutional petition on behalf of the former prime minister, contesting the impact of these laws on people's lives.
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Sept 9th, 2023) Imprisoned Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday took legal action by approaching the Supreme Court to challenge the Official Secrets Act and the Army Amendment Act.
Advocate Shoaib Shaheen filed a constitutional petition on behalf of the former prime minister, contesting the impact of these laws on people's lives. The petition argued that both acts violate the provisions of Article 10A, Article 8, and Article 19, and questions whether the president has officially signed these acts into law.
The petition sought a declaration that both the Official Secrets Act and the Army Amendment Act are null and void until the constitutional petition is adjudicated.
It's worth noting that President Dr. Arif Alvi publicly expressed his disagreement with the Official Secrets Act and the Army Amendment Bill via his personal social media account, formerly known as Twitter. He clarified that he did not sign either of these laws and instructed his staff to return these bills without his signature, confirming that they were returned as per his directive. However, the president alleged that his staff had misled him in this matter and subsequently took action against his secretary over the incident.
Previously, a petition had urged the apex court to seek the Federal government's opinion on the legal status of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) following President Dr. Arif Alvi's statement that he neither approved nor specified reasons for returning these bills to Parliament for reconsideration.
In response to these developments, Advocate Zulfikar Ahmed Bhutta filed a petition asserting that the fate of the two laws should be determined since the president had neither given his approval nor returned the bills. This legal ambiguity could potentially benefit individuals facing trial under the amended laws by arguing that they have lost their legal standing due to controversy.
Bhutta's petition calls for the Supreme Court to instruct the federal government to invoke Article 186 of the Constitution within ten days. Article 186 deals with the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, which the government can utilize by sending a reference to the court to seek its opinion on the legal status of bills, especially in light of Articles 71 and 75 of the Constitution.
This petition was filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, invoking the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction for the enforcement of fundamental rights.
In response to these allegations, Waqar Ahmad, the secretary to the president, refuted President Arif Alvi's claims that his instructions were defied by staff in connection with the Official Secrets Act and Pakistan Army Act bills.
In an official statement, the secretary clarified that President Dr. Arif Alvi neither approved the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, nor provided a written decision for returning them to Parliament for reconsideration.
