Islamabad: The National Assembly has passed the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, following modifications to the original draft, similar to the changes made by the Senate a day earlier, on Monday.
The key amendment in the adopted bill involved the exclusion of a clause that would have allowed intelligence agencies to arrest suspects or conduct searches without obtaining warrants. This revision was introduced by a Senate committee during the bill’s examination process.
Earlier, Senate on Sunday passed the Official Secrets Act Amendment Bill 2023 after the government removed the warrantless arrests provision from the draft law.
The session of the Upper House was chaired by Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Meanwhile Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazir Tarar presented the Official Secrets Amendment Bill, 2023 in the Senate for approval. The government also withdrew the Counterterrorism Amendment Bill, 2023
