The National Assembly on Monday passed the Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023, barring military personnel from engaging in any political activity until two years after they have left active service.
Under the legislation, which has already been passed by the Senate, any person who was posted, employed, seconded, tasked or otherwise attached to “sensitive” duties, shall be similarly barred from engaging in any political activity for five years from the date of their exit from active service.
Moving the bill, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar stressed that none of its provisions applied to civilians. Referring to a pending case being heard by the Supreme Court over trials of civilians in military courts, he said it would have no impact on that either. The core aim of the bill, he said, was to amend the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 to provide the structural underpinnings of raising and maintaining the Army.
According to the bill, which must now be placed before President Arif Alvi for final approval before becoming law, any person found guilty of disclosing any information acquired in an official capacity, which is or may be prejudicial to the security and interest of Pakistan or the armed forces, faces five years of rigorous imprisonment.
It states that the Pakistan Army, upon direction or with the concurrence of relevant authorities of the government, may directly or indirectly carry out activities related to national development and advancement of national or strategic interest. It also bars dual nationals from taking a commission in the armed forces and authorizes the federal government, in extraordinary circumstances, to retain any person of the Army compulsorily in service up to 60 years of age with the recommendation of the Army chief.
The legislation further forbids personnel from entering into employment consultation or other engagement with an entity having a conflict of interest with any of the activities of the armed forces of Pakistan or its affiliated entities in a manner or position that utilizes the skills or experience acquired during association with armed forces. However, this provision does not apply to employment made after prior approval from the Army chief. Any person found guilty of violating these clauses would be punished with up to two years’ imprisonment or with a fine not exceeding Rs. 500,000 or both.
The bill also deals with electronic crimes under which any personnel involved in undermining, ridiculing or scandalizing the armed forces would face penalties.
Other bills
Also on Monday, the Lower House of Parliament passed the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, 2023. It has an authorized capital of Rs. 100 trillion, with issued capital to be paid in cash or in kind by the federal government. The fund’s objective, per the legislation, is to contribute to sustainable economic development through the management of funds and assets and achieving optimal use of them according to best international standards and policies. According to the bill, the sovereign fund is exempt from three laws: the Privatization Commission Ordinance 2000, the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Ordinance 2002, and the State-Owned Enterprises Act, 2023.
The government, it said, had already transferred the following assets and entities to the fund: Oil and Gas Development Company Limited with 3,657,079,419 shares; Pakistan Petroleum Limited with 1,952,181,498 shares; National Bank of Pakistan with 1,608,420,866 shares; Government Holdings (Private) Limited with 2,088,512,092 shares; Pakistan Development Fund Limited with 6,000,000,000 shares; Mari Petroleum Company Limited with 24,532,720 and the Neelum-Jhelum Hydro-Power Company (Private) Limited with 416,634,630 shares.
Additionally, the Board of Investment (Amendment) Act, 2023 was passed, through which the federal government shall establish a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), as earlier announced by lawmakers as a key component of an economic revival plan.
According to the bill, the SIFC shall facilitate investment and privatization in various areas, including but not limited to defense, agriculture, infrastructure development, strategic initiatives, logistics, minerals, information technology, telecommunication and energy, adding that it shall take all the measures to facilitate and promote opportunities for investment and business in and for Pakistan.
The SIFC would act as a ‘single window’ for multi-domain cooperation in relevant fields with GCC countries in particular, and other countries in general, for the facilitation of investment and development of an enabling policy environment.
The National Assembly also passed the Defense Housing Authority Islamabad (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology, Islamabad (Amendment) Bill, 2023; and the Cantonments (Amendment) Bill, 2023.