The National Assembly has recently passed Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill 2023 with a majority vote, a day after the coalition government removed contentious provisions of the act and the upper house of parliament signalled a green light about the legislation that has attracted much importance and criticism in the current scenario. Meanwhile, the latest modified version of the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill 2023 successfully sailed through the Upper House after the government made changes to the bill, removing a clause that sought to empower intelligence agencies to carry out raids or make arrests without warrants. The Federal Minister for law Azam Nazir Tarar told the lawmakers that objection has been removed and the arrest without warrant clause has been withdrawn. According to him, the revised legislation empowered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate individuals suspected of violating the Official Secrets Act. Tarar urged the parliamentarians to view those clauses without prejudice that were aimed at protecting the military personnel and intelligence agencies rendering unmatchable sacrifices in the war zones.
Historically, legislation and law making process had always been highly contentious throughout the Country’s history, because our Parliamentarians hardly moved in the public interest and often approved irrational and politically motivated regulations which not only bulldozed the constitution but cast heavy price to the country and society. Multiple flimsy laws were framed to target the opponents that have no constitutional rationale, while a majority of such regulations had been proved to be the leg cuffs for their creators and used for the ouster of the governments, indictment and prosecution of the public leaders in the past. In fact, the politicians and civic groups had made mockery of the constitution by adopting the policy of compromise, give and take and mutual benefit to secure their political and monetary interests instead of seeking public well being, promoting transparency, ensuring the rule of the law and preservation of civic rights and civil liberties in the society. On the onset of dysfunctional democracy and malignancy of the Politicians, all political parties have intersecting prioritises about the role of state institutions and national issues including the NAB, Higher Education, National Healthcare, the ECP and Electoral Bill, freedom of judiciary, Counter Terrorism and National Security, Police and Patwari as well as foreign relations with important neighbors etc. Thus, a mystery of makes and breaks, undoing and redoing repeats each time after the arrival of a new government but nothing ever improved the public life and brought any positive change in the Country.
After the May 9 violence, the attacks on military installations and desecration of the Martyrs’ memorials had sadden the entire nation, while stern punishments to the rioters and strict accountability of their gang leaders was the sole demand of the public, so no culprits can ever rethink about the repetition of those heinous crimes in the future. The military leadership asked the government to prosecute the rioters under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secret-1923 that deal in the cases relating to Pakistan Army, its installations, equipment and personnel, while those laws equally applicable to common public, enemy agents and terrorists who wilfully trespass, sabotage, subvert or commit espionage against the Defence Forces of Pakistan. Currently, the case of admissibility of civilians’ trial in the military courts is under consideration by the apex courts that the incumbent rulers came up with another controversial legislation of empowering Intelligence Agencies to arrest their suspects/ common citizens without an arrest warrant from the Magistrate. In fact, it was the highest level of betrayal with the Constitution as Pakistani society faces a human tragedy and could not resolve the issue of the missing persons over the past two decades. Thousands of innocent Pakistanis have disappeared and their loved ones are unaware of their whereabouts, life and well being, while the state, security institutions as well as the judiciary were unable to justify this situation or resolve the issue in the past years. Thus, opening another vent for lawlessness is purely a politically motivated blunder with the nation and its people amid rising terrorism and intensifying Counter Terrorism operation of the LEAs that will surely crush the barley with the wheat.
Currently, Pakistani society is highly divided and extremely polarised, while our state institutions always play an extra-constitutional role aimed at protecting institutional self respect instead of fulfilling their basic duties and upholding rule of the law in true letter and spirit. The people of Pakistan are currently suffering unprecedented miseries on the hands of the governments and state institutions including police, the judiciary, WAPDA, OGDCL and others who had been turned into masters instead of servants to the nation by complicity with criminals, crooks and mafias. Honestly, Pakistan has no scarcity of laws and sacred code books but the Country faces a serious lack of will, a fair and transparent conduct of the institution and sincere implementation of the constitution that brings a visible change in the society. Otherwise, politically motivated legislation can only serve the hidden motives of the ruling elite.
