Bills controversy
President’s Secretariat writes to PMO seeking to replace Waqar Ahmed with Humaira Ahmed
ISLAMABAD
In view of President Dr Arif Alvi’s yesterday’s statement, President’s Secretariat on Monday wrote to the principal secretary to the prime minister that the services of serving secretary to the president are no more required.
“The services of Mr Waqar Ahmed, Secretary to the President, are no more required and are surrendered to the Establishment Division, immediately,” read a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat. “It has also been desired that Ms Humaira Ahmed, a BPS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, may be posted as Secretary to the President,” the statement added.
President Alvi created a stir on Sunday by claiming that he had not signed the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, attributing the confusion to his staff’s actions. This revelation plunged the country into a state of chaos. In a social media post, the president vehemently denied giving his assent to the two bills. He admitted, however, that his staff failed to return the bills to parliament within the stipulated 10-day timeframe mandated by Article 75 of the Constitution. He accused his staff of not only deceiving him but also undermining his authority, effectively concealing the fact that the bills had not been returned.
Alvi said that he found out on Sunday that the bills had not been returned within the stipulated timeframe, adding that on his repeated inquiries from his staff he got the assurance every time that the bills were returned.
Meanwhile, the caretaker government defended the enactment of the bills, saying that the bills became law on the maturity of the 10-day period for presidential assent.
Caretaker Law Minister Ahmad Irfan Aslam spoke at a joint news conference with Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, shortly after President Arif Alvi denied that he assented to the two important pieces of legislation.
“The president had the option to raise objections to the bills within the stipulated timeframe but he chose not to, leading to the automatic enactment of the bills into law,” Aslam told the news conference.
He stated that the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill was received by the Presidency on Aug 2, while the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill reached the president on Aug 8.
“The president had only two choices [after receiving the bills]: approve the bills or send them back with objections. No third option exists, and if the bills are not returned, they become law automatically after 10 days,” he added.
