Alvi denies signing laws, claims his staff defied him,
Political parties demand Alvi’s resignation after he denies signing crucial bills,
Islamabad_In a twist of events, President Arif Alvi denied Sunday signing Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023, claiming that his staff “undermined” his orders.
President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday said that he did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 and Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 as he disagreed with these laws. On social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, the president said that he asked his staff to return the bills unsigned within stipulated time to make them ineffective.
“I confirmed from them many times that whether they have been returned & was assured that they were. However I have found out today that my staff undermined my will and command,” the president added. In a statement, he said he never agreed to the contents of amendments and did not sign the bills. He had instructed his staff to send the two laws back to the Parliament, said the president.
It was widely reported in Pakistan media on Saturday that President Alvi had signed the two bills despite sending over a dozen other bills back to the Parliament. The claim by the president is unprecedented.
Alvi said he had confirmed from his staff that the bills had been sent back to the parliament. The president said that he offers apologies to the people who would be affected by the approval of the bills. In the statement which he also posted to X, formerly Twitter, Alvi said, “As God is my witness, I did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 & Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023 as I disagreed with these laws. I asked my staff to return the bills unsigned within stipulated time to make them ineffective. I confirmed from them many times that whether they have been returned & was assured that they were. However I have found out today that my staff undermined my will and command. As Allah knows all, He will forgive IA. But I ask forgiveness from those who will be effected.”
While,
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) sought the resignation of President Arif Alvi after the latter admitted not having signed two significant bills pertaining to the army and secrets laws.
Unexpectedly, President Alvi stated that he did not enact the legislation modifying the Official Secrets Act and the Pakistan Army Act because he “disagreed with these laws.”
In a tweet on the social networking site X, formerly known as Twitter, Alvi claimed to have instructed his office workers to return the bills unsigned within the allotted period in order to render them “ineffective.
The Army Act Amendment Bill and the Official Secrets Act were both passed by the National Assembly and the Senate, and President Alvi signed both of them into law on Saturday, according to a report.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief was arrested shortly after the bill was approved and meanwhile, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the party’s senior leader, was detained at his home in the evening, and this morning, reports said Asad Umar had also been detained in connection with the matter.
Faisal Karim Kundi, a spokesman for the PPP, responded by calling the incident ‘unfortunate’ and lamenting the fact that the president apologised “24 hours after it was reported on the media that he did.”
“In my opinion, such a person is unfit to hold the office and he is unaware of what is taking place and unaware of his bypassers,” the PPP leader claimed.
Vice President of PPP Sherry Rehman stated in a statement that the revelation casts doubt on Alvi’s capacity to serve as president.
Rehman questioned, “Is he trying to say that someone else signed the bills under from under his nose? If so, the president should resign.”
Ishaq Dar, a PML-N leader and former finance minister, called Alvi’s statement “unbelievable” and demanded his resignation in a post on the social media platform X.
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