Official Secrets Act: Special court constituted for hearings

ISLAMABAD: Special court has been constituted in Islamabad to hear cases under Official Secrets Act, ARY News reported on Monday.

ATC Judge Abu Al-Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain has been appointed as the judge of the special court, who will hear the cases under the Official Secrets Act from across the country.

It has been confirmed the proceedings under the Official Secrets Act will be in-camera.

It may be noted that currently, the PTI chairman and former prime minister, former federal ministers Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar are facing cases under Official Secrets Act.

Read more: Gazette notifications of Army Act, Secrets Law issued after controversy

The matter took a dramatic turn on Sunday when, President Arif Alvi denied signing Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 as he “disagreed with these laws”.

In a post on social media platform X, Alvi said: “As God is my witness, I did not sign Official Secrets Amendment Bill, 2023 and Pakistan Army Amendment Bill, 2023 as I disagreed with these laws.”

The president said he asked his staff to return the bills unsigned within the stipulated time to make them “uneffective”.