ISLAMABAD: Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill 2023 has been forwarded to President Arif Alvi for approval, ARY News reported on Tuesday.
National Assembly Secretariat forwarded Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Amendment Bill 2023 to the presidency for ratification.
Both the bills were passed by the lower house of the Parliament, National Assembly on Monday, while the Senate has already passed the bills.
The National Assembly yesterday passed Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill 2023 with a majority vote, a day after Senate green-lighted the legislation by removing a key provision.
According to details, the official secrets bill was re-tabled in the National Assembly after the legislation sailed through the lower house of parliament last week but failed to get Senate’s nod due to ‘controversial clauses’.
Later, the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill 2023 was referred to the upper house’s standing committee.
Subsequently, Senate on Sunday passed the legislation after the government made changes to the bill, removing a clause granting intelligence agencies powers to carry out raids or make arrests without warrants.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, while tabling the bill in the Senate, informed the senators that the government withdrew the provision to grant intelligence agencies powers to conduct warrantless searches.
Read More: Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill passed after key provision withdrawn
He also emphasised that the revised legislation empowered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate individuals suspected of violating the Official Secrets Act.
He further said that certain words on which the members had raised objections had also been removed.
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