A day after President Dr. Arif Alvi denied signing the Official Secrets Act and the Pakistan Army Act, the President’s Secretariat announced on Monday that Secretary Waqar Ahmed’s services were “no more required.”
“In light of yesterday’s definitive statement, the President’s Secretariat has written a letter to the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister stating that the services of Mr Waqar Ahmed, Secretary to the President, are no longer required and are immediately surrendered to the Establishment Division,” said a statement posted by the President of Pakistan’s official account on X.
“It has also been requested that Ms Humaira Ahmed, a BPS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, be posted as Secretary to the President,” according to the statement.
On Sunday, President Alvi caused controversy by stating that he had not signed the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, which had become acts of parliament the day before because he “disagreed with these laws.”
“As God is my witness,” Alvi said on the social networking site X, “I did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill, 2023 and Pakistan Army Amendment Bill, 2023 because I disagreed with these laws.”
The president stated that he instructed his staff to return the bills unsigned within the time frame specified in order to render them “ineffective.”
Both the bills were passed by the parliament during the tenure of the coalition government and were sent to President Alvi for ratification.
Gazette notifications
Hours after President Alvi’s statement, a gazette notification issued by the Senate Secretariat surfaced, stating that the two bills were “deemed to have been assented by the president”.
According to the notification, the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was deemed to have been approved by the president with effect from August 17 and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023 from August 11.
‘Bills became law after non-objection from President’
Earlier in the day, Caretaker Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam stated that if the president does not accept or reject a measure within a 10-day period, it immediately becomes law.
The caretaker law minister claimed during a press conference in Islamabad that the Official Secrets Act and the Pakistan Army Act had not been received by his ministry from the Aiwan-e-Sadr ‘President House’.
“President Alvi had the option of raising objections to the bills within the specified timeframe but chose not to do so, resulting in the bills’ automatic enactment into law,” Ahmed Irfan Aslam added.
He noted that the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill arrived at the Presidential Palace on August 2, while the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill arrived on August 8.
“The president had only two choices: to approve the bills or send them back with objections. No third option exists, and if the bills are not returned, they become law automatically within ten days,” he added.
