Pakistan’s President, Arif Alvi, announced on Sunday that he has declined to sign two bills into law, which were intended to grant authorities greater powers to prosecute individuals for offenses against the state and military. This decision has been met with opposition from the country’s law ministry, asserting that it is unconstitutional.
Both houses of Pakistan’s parliament have already passed these bills. However, President Alvi is a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, which opposes the coalition government responsible for passing these bills.
On the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, President Alvi stated, “As God is my witness, I did not sign the Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 & Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 as I disagreed with these laws.” He further mentioned that he had instructed his staff to return the bills unsigned to the legislature within the specified time frame to render them ineffective.
The Ministry of Law and Justice expressed grave concern over the president’s decision. In a statement, the ministry explained, “The President has two options: either give assent or refer the matter to the parliament with specific observations.” The statement added that the president had not taken either of these actions, and it deemed this course of action to be against both the letter and spirit of the constitution.
According to the constitution’s provisions, if the president does not sign a draft bill or return it with observations or objections within ten days after it has passed both houses of parliament, the bill automatically becomes law.
Caretaker Law Minister Ahmad Iran announced at a news conference that, as the president did not sign or return the bill within the ten-day window, it has now become law.
Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi emphasized that President Alvi’s comments on his personal social media account do not hold any authority because he did not send back any objections to the bills within the stipulated timeframe.
