ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi’s tweet about Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 and Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 on Sunday made a complete mockery of the entire system of bills’ approval.
Under the constitution, when the president keeps a bill for ten days, it shows that he has given his consent for its approval.
As per Article 75 of Constitution, he can exercise two options after receiving a bill’s approval from the Parliament, either to approve it or suggest an amendment and show his disagreement with it within 10 days of the receiving the bill.
The Constitution of Pakistan does not provide any 3rd option to the President.
Hence, keeping the bill or verbally returning the bill (if at all he actually did) without any observation, is unconstitutional act by the president and is an attempt to play petty politics.
If the President, as per the Constitution of Pakistan, fails to give assent to the presented bill within 10 days then such assent shall be deemed to have been given.
Keeping the bill with own-self or not returning with any observation is equivalent ‘per se’ deemed to have assented to a Bill by President as per Article 75, clause (3) of the Constitution.
Hence the President actually assented to the bill by keeping it with himself or not returning with a message or observation.
Tweeting about the bill showing his “no consent”, does not carry any weight in the constitution though suggesting a cheap tactics to play in political situation country is undergoing.
President’s tweet
It is to be noted that President Alvi tweeted today mid-day, saying “God is my witness, I did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 & Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 as I disagreed with these laws.”
Thus, his tweet made a mockery of the entire system, which shows how the Presidency is running without any order, under his own command.
A summary or a bill normally approved goes through almost 20 to 25 sections of various ministries and when a bill is discussed in the media, it even passes more than that staff’s hands and minds before final approval. These two bills were given headlines spaces in the media, showing these were taken up by all media publications and TVs.
Even after approval and enactment of the bills, and several actions had been taken, it is very difficult to believe that the president was unaware of all these processes of bills’ approval.
