Tweeting up a row
Constitutional status of the parliamentary bills amending the Official Secrets Act and the Pakistan Army Act stands in limbo. With the National Assembly having been dissolved and Caretakers at the helm, President Dr Arif Alvi, through a tweet on Sunday, made it public that he had not signed the two amendment bills — approved by both houses of parliament during separate sessions held between July 28 and August 7 — into acts as “I disagreed with these laws”. The President issued the clarification about 27 hours after mainstream media flashed the news of the two bills earning the presidential assent and becoming laws. The President blamed his staff saying that it “undermined my will and command” by not returning the “unsigned” bills to the government.
The President’s surprise tweet has kicked up a serious constitutional row, rather chaos, with the expert opinion divided. The law ministry insists that 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.” While there are constitutional experts siding with the official take, there are others who differ, including obviously those on the other side of the political divide.
Since the President does not enjoy a veto power on legislation matters and can only offer his objections to legislators, the Constitution, in its spirit, throws its weight behind the government. But, when it comes to abiding by the Constitution in its letter, the unusual situation at hand provides ample room for legal eagles to make a case for judicial arbitration. The President, however, cannot simply get away shifting the blame to his staff, as he, being the incumbent of the top constitutional office of the country, is not expected to be ignorant or negligent of the due process of referring a parliamentary bill back to the government. Fingers crossed as the two key bills are all set to land in the top court for judicial interpretation on whether they stand approved or not!
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2023.
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