ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan submitted a petition in the Supreme Court on Saturday, requesting the top judiciary to declare two controversial pieces of legislation granting sweeping powers to the country’s military and intelligence agencies as unconstitutional.
The Pakistan Army and Official Secrets (Amendment) Acts, 2023, were passed by both houses of parliament under the administration of ex-premier Shehbaz Sharif and primarily targeted Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, though their content and manner of approval was challenged by prominent lawmakers sitting in the government and the opposition.
The two laws allowed the country’s security and intelligence establishment to raid and detain any citizen and try civilians in military courts.
They were sent to President Arif Alvi, Khan’s close ally, for endorsement. While it was widely reported last month in the media that he had given his nod to the bills and turned them into laws, he denied the information in a social media post wherein he mentioned he had issues with the bills and instructed his staff to return them unsigned.
“The President never assented to the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023, rather he disagreed and even in his [social media] post he stated that he confirmed many times from his staff within stipulated time that whether they have been returned [to parliament] and was assured that they were,” said the petition.
“Hence, publication of impugned Official Secrets (Amendment) Act, 2023 and impugned Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act, 2023 in the official gazette contrary to the Constitutional provisions as enunciated under Article 75 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, is Un-Constitutional,” it added.
Khan, who is currently facing a prison trial carried out by a special court for mishandling a confidential diplomatic cable for political purposes under the Official Secrets Act, said both pieces of legislation were against the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution since they took away the protection of citizen’s freedom, due process, and fair trial.
Several leaders and supporters of Khan’s PTI party faced the threat of being tried in military courts after their arrest in the wake of violent protests on May 9 when the former PM was briefly detained on graft charges in Islamabad.
The top PTI leader, who was arrested on corruption allegations in the beginning of August, has also been in a high-security jail, with his legal team trying to secure his bail and bring him out of prison.
Ex-PM Khan files Supreme Court appeal against laws granting sweeping powers to Pakistan army
https://arab.news/5fa5r
Ex-PM Khan files Supreme Court appeal against laws granting sweeping powers to Pakistan army
- The ex-premier says the president never gave approval to the Pakistan Army and Official Secrets Acts
- His petition calls the laws against fundamental rights, saying they deprive citizens of due process, fair trial
Pakistan stocks tumble 2.3% as Middle East conflict rattles investors
- KSE-100 posts weekly loss of 6.3% as geopolitical tensions trigger sell-off
- Foreign investors dump $25.5 million in equities amid global energy supply fears
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s benchmark stock index fell 2.3% on Friday as investors sold shares ahead of the weekend amid growing fears that the escalating conflict involving Iran could disrupt global energy supplies and trade routes.
The KSE-100 index closed down 3,714.57 points at 157,496.10, after touching an intraday high of 161,435.83 and a low of 157,072.64, according to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) data. Trading volume stood at about 196 million shares with a value of roughly Rs18.8 billion ($67 million).
The decline capped a volatile week for Pakistani equities, with the benchmark index falling 6.3% week-on-week as geopolitical tensions between Iran, the United States and Israel unsettled investors and triggered risk-off sentiment across regional markets.
“KSE-100 Index declined by -6.3% on a week-on-week basis, and this decline can be attributed to the Middle East conflict (US-Israel vs. Iran), where investors sold their positions in the backdrop of increasing risk to global energy supply and trade routes,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its weekly review.
Topline said foreign corporate investors were among the largest sellers during the week, offloading equities worth $25.5 million, while mutual funds sold shares worth $54.5 million amid investor redemptions.
Banks, insurance companies and local corporates partly cushioned the sell-off, buying equities worth $36 million, $15.7 million and $14.3 million respectively during the week, according to the review.
Other economic developments during the week included Pakistan’s consumer price inflation for February rising to 6.98% from 5.80% in January and the country’s trade deficit widening to $2.98 billion for the month, up 8% from the previous month and 25% year-on-year.
Average daily trading volumes during the week stood at around 658 million shares, with average daily value reaching about Rs36.2 billion ($130 million), Topline said.
