The outgoing government quietly got the Official Secrets Amendment Bill passed by the National Assembly yesterday in a bid to grant blanket powers to intelligence agencies which will be able to raid and detain any citizen even under suspicion of breaching the law .
The amendments in the secrets act have broadened the definitions of military installations and bring digital and modern means of communication into the laws ambit . According to experts this could bring vloggers and bloggers within the ambit of the law as well .
The proposed law is going to empower the InterServices Intelligence ISI and Intelligence Bureau IB to raid a citizen over the suspected breach of official secrets while simply disclosing the name of a secret agent will also be considered an offence .
The law also deals with the admissibility of the evidence and states All material collected during the course of inquiry or investigation which facilitates the commission of any offence under this act shall be admissible . However legal experts believe that it could not be used against those who had attacked military installations on May since the law could not have been invoked retrospectively using the law in the May violence which erupted after the arrest of Imran Khan in a corruption case .
A bare perusal of the proposed law suggests as it was drafted while keeping in mind the law was drafted to keep in mind May violence . However, legal experts say that it would not be invoked in the past because the law may not be allowed to use the law.
The law would not necessarily apply to those who attack military installations in May since it could have been amended in the following circumstances . The bill may not have affected those who attacked military facilities in May. However, it could also not be applied to those that had been amended as the law would have been revised in the March 18, 2009.
