National Assembly has approved the amendment bill in the Army Act 1952, under which anyone disclosing sensitive information related to the country or the armed forces will be sentenced to five years in prison.
The amendment to the Army Act was passed by the Senate last week and was scheduled to be presented in the National Assembly today, according to the agenda set by Defense Minister Khawaja Asif.
In the absence of Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Federal Law Minister, Nazeer Tarar, presented the Army Act Amendment Bill 2023 in the National Assembly, where only a few members were present.
While presenting the bill, Prime Minister Nazeer Tarar clarified that the scope of the bill will not apply to civilians.
He said that the matter of trials in military courts is pending in the Supreme Court, and this legislation will not affect that case. This bill is not of retrospective nature.
Earlier, the bill had faced severe criticism in the Senate last week; however, it was passed with a majority vote. Afterward, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has initiated an investigation against its senators.