President Dr. Arif Alvi’s admission that he had not signed laws revising the Official Secrets Act and the Pakistan Army Act prompted a petition to be filed with the Supreme Court on Tuesday in Islamabad.
Advocate Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta filed the petition asking the Supreme Court to weigh in.
The United States government has been included as a defendant to the complaint.
Since the revisions touch more than just the accused, it contended that they should be put on hold until the matter is resolved.
The petitioner stresses that there is a “crisis” because the president’s allegations call into question the legitimacy of proceedings under the revised acts.
The petition asked the Supreme Court to explain the constitutionality of both measures by issuing orders to the administration within the next 10 days. It asked that “all actions in view of the Official Secrets Act, 2023 and the Army Act, 2023 should be declared suspended during the pendency of this petition.”
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On Sunday, Dr. Alvi caused a commotion when he claimed he had neither signed the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill or the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, blaming the mix-up on his staff. The country descended into anarchy after this news broke.
The president denied endorsing the two legislation in a social media post. However, he conceded that his office missed the deadline to submit the measures to the legislature set forth in Article 75 of the Constitution by 10 days.
He claimed that his employees had not only lied to him but also undermined his authority by covering up the unpaid bills.
Alvi said he found out on Sunday that the invoices weren’t returned within the allotted period, despite his repeated assurances from his staff that everything was taken care of.
After that, he informed the prime minister’s principal secretary that the president’s services as serving secretary were no longer needed in a letter.
The caretaker administration, however, has promptly responded to the president’s charges, defending the passage of the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill by stating that they became law with the expiration of the 10-day deadline for presidential assent.
