In a statement issued on Sunday, shortly after the president took to X, formerly Twitter, to distance himself from the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill Act 2023, which was signed into law on August 19 (Saturday) along with the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act 2023, the law ministry said that the president should “take responsibility for his own actions”.
“As per Article 75 of the Constitution [of Pakistan], 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. In the instant matter, neither of the requirements were fulfilled. Instead, the President purposely delayed the assent,” read the statement.
It added that returning the bills without any observation or assent is not an option provided in the Constitution.
“Such a course of action is against the letter and spirit of the Constitution. If the President had any observations, he could have returned the bills with his observations like he did in the recent and distant past. He could have also issued a press release to that effect,” it stated, adding that it was a “matter of concern that the President had chosen to discredit his own officials”.
