Hours after the President said that he does not need Waqar Ahmed’s services, the Secretary has said in a statement on Monday that Dr. Arif Alvi did not sign the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, or the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023, nor did he make a written decision to send them back to parliament for further consideration.
On Monday, the official X (formerly Twitter) account of @PresOfPakistan stated: “In view of the definite statement of yesterday, President’s Secretariat has written a letter to Principal Secretary to Prime Minister that the services of Mr. Waqar Ahmed, Secretary to President, are no more required and are surrendered to the Establishment Division, immediately”.
President Arif Alvi caused a sensation on Sunday when he said in a tweet from his personal account that he did not sign the official secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, or the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023, as he does not agree with the laws. He said that despite his orders to return the bills to parliament, his staff disobeyed him.
“I confirmed from them many times that whether they have been returned & was assured that they were,” Alvi wrote about the bills in a tweet, adding that he just found out that his staff “undermined my will and command”.
He also asked for forgiveness from those who are affected by the bills.
The tweets came about after news broke that he had signed the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Army Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023. Now both bills are part of the law.
On the other hand, former Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani has said that “the tweet of President Arif Alvi was inappropriate”.
Raza Rabbani pointed out that if an inquiry is initiated, the president will have to appear before a committee of the upper house since he is a part of the parliament under Article 50 of the Constitution.
“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,” he stressed.
The ministry has said neither of the requirements was fulfilled. Instead, the president purposely delayed the assent, it added. Returning the bills without any observations or assent is not provided for in the Constitution, the spokesperson said, adding that 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,” the law ministry said.
