President Dr. Arif Alvi signs Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Bill & Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 into law

ISLAMABAD, August 19 (SABAH): President Dr. Arif Alvi on Saturday signed the Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Bill and Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 into law.

The development comes days after the President Dr. Arif Alvi refused to sign multiple bills. The approval of the bills would widen the scope of Army Act and the Official Secret Act.

Earlier, both bills were approved by the National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan.

Under the Army Act Amendment Bill 2023 unauthorised disclosure of information related to national security and interests will be penalised, and the individual involved in it will be sentenced to five years in prison.

According to the bill, any action against Pakistan and its armed forces, involving disclosures, will also be taken into account, and the relevant person will be dealt with under the Official Secrets Act and the Army Act. The person will not be allowed to participate in political activities under the law, and after retirement, resignation, or dismissal, they will not be involved in political activities for 2 years.

Individuals assigned to sensitive duties will not be allowed to participate in political activities for 5 years, and those violating the ban will receive a harsh punishment of 2 years in prison. If a person under the Anyone who defames the military or spreads hate will be sentenced to 2 years in prison and will be tried under the Electronic Crimes Act.

Meanwhile, the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was passed by the National Assembly earlier this month, modification in the original draft for the amendment.

The original draft empowered intelligence agencies to arrest suspects or conduct searches without warrants. This clause was dropped in the final version of the bill.

Another change was made to clause 5 of the bill, which earlier stated: “[A] person may be presumed to have been in communication with enemy or a foreign agent if he has, either within or without Pakistan visited the address of a foreign agent or consorted or associated with enemy or a foreign agent…”