• Govt should immediately withdraw Official Secrets Act.
• Senate Committee is expected to reject proposed amendment.
• The amendment exempts agencies from searching any civilian.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council(PBC) has strongly condemned the amendment of the Official Secret Act.

In a statement, the Pakistan Bar Council said that the federal government should immediately withdraw the Official Secrets Act Amendment Bill, which gave the secret agencies free rein to detain any citizen. The amendment exempts secret agencies from searching any civilian place without a search warrant.

The statement added that the amendment to the Official Secrets Act also contradicts the Constitution of Pakistan, and the Senate Standing Committee is expected to reject the proposed amendment.

It should be noted that when the Official Secrets Act amendment bill was presented in the Senate yesterday, the government allies along with the opposition were furious. Pakistan People’s Party’s Raza Rabbani tore several copies of the bills.

When the Official Secrets Act Amendment Bill was presented in the Senate, slogans of “No-No” were raised in the House. Senators including PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami, MQM, National Party, PK MAP including People’s Party’s Raza Rabbani, PML-N’s Dr. Afnan ullah protested against the bill.

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