With just days left before it bids adieu, the government has taken it upon itself to bulldoze legislation after legislation through in parliament without any debate. The haphazard way in which this is being done has made even some members of the PDM parties question and oppose what the government is up to. Among other legislation, one of the most controversial laws proposed is a bill to amend the Official Secrets Act, 1923, which was passed by the National Assembly on Tuesday but mercifully opposed by the Senate quite vocally on Wednesday, the Upper House asking tough and necessary from the government.
The proposed amendment to the Official Secrets Act introduces a number of additional sections while also modifying definitions and procedure. At the outset, the proposed law pretty much gives draconian powers to the state. First, it redfines ‘enemy’ as: “any person who is directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally working for or engaged with the foreign power, foreign agent, non-state actor, organisation, entity, association or group guilty of a particular act tending to show a purpose that is prejudicial to the interest and safety of Pakistan”. Then it allows intelligence agencies to enter and search any person or place, seize documents and other evidence from anyone’s home or person – without even bothering with a warrant. Pakistan’s constitution says that “the dignity of man and, subject to law, the privacy of home, shall be inviolable”. How our lawmakers think that handing over such carte blanche to agencies is in keeping with the constitution is not just confusing but alarming. The power to enter and search any person or place without a warrant – if necessary by use of force – takes away the privacy of home and dignity of any person. The bill also proposes a penalty with a prison term of three years for disclosing the “identity of the members of the intelligence agencies or the informants or sources”. Analysts say this could easily be used to target political persons – much like the other clauses in the bill.
It is extremely worrying that a government which talks about democratic values, injustice and human rights is willing to take away some of the basic rights guaranteed to the citizens of Pakistan. Perhaps the worst is the nonchalant way this business is being conducted – no debate, no consensus, just run through such legislation like its par for the course. If passed, anyone and everyone’s house can be raided on the pretext of one thing or the other. What of the right to fair trial? What of the right to be presented by a court- sanctioned warrant? Will everyone standing on the ‘wrong side; of the narrative of the moment be branded an ‘enemy’? Pakistan is not exactly known for its law-enforcement and intelligence agencies’ adherence to codified legal procedure. Illegal raids, ‘disappearances’, ‘encounter killings’ – this is not a country where such acts are made an example of. And now there is an attempt to not only ignore (as has been done previously) such acts but also give them a legal cover. When law and justice are sacrificed at the altar of whim, suspicion and paranoia, human rights take a very back seat. One wonders at the wisdom (or lack of it) of a government whose members have been at the receiving end of labels like ‘traitor’ just in the recent past now trying to justify such legislation. Apart from the chaotic mess they are leaving behind economically, if at all they are leaving, the government is only opening the door via various legislation to measures that its own members will likely have to face at some point. Ceding space to stay in power may seem like some astute strategic move but what power exactly will a democratic government wield if it willingly gives up the rights of the people of this country to oppressive laws?