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Senate seeks information on dual national judgesAD: The Upper House of parliament on Monday asked the federal government to collect relevant information about dual national judges of superior courts and submit it to the House within two months.
Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq informed the House that the same issue was raised several times but never received a proper answer. He noted that only the Balochistan High Court has provided the information, stating that they do not have any dual national judge. The Supreme Court and other high courts have not responded to the request. He also said that if a member of the House demanded such information, it means the information was demanded by the Senate. Haq urged that such information should be provided to the House.
Senate Nayyar Hussain Bokhari said that according to Article 19A of the constitution it is a fundamental right of every person to have access to information. “The House could not deprive a person from access to information.” He gave two months’ time to the government to collect information about judges having dual nationality and present it in the House. Leader of the opposition Ch Aitizaz was of the view the House may call attorney general of Supreme Court and he should arrange information about dual national judges. He also said that the attorney general may communicate the concerns of parliamentarians to the chief justice of Pakistan.
The Senate today unanimously adopted a resolution moved by Senator Farhatullah Babar, which called upon the government to drastically amend the Official Secrets Act of 1923 and to make it consistent with the constitutionally guaranteed right to information, fair trial and fundamental rights. Speaking on the resolution the senator said that information is withheld even from parliament on the grounds of secrecy or confidentiality without laying down any guidelines as to who classifies a document as secret and how.
Pointing out its outdated nature he said that Section 4 which deals with communication with foreign agents to be evidence of certain offences says that “a person may be presumed to have been in communication with a foreign agent if he has, either within or without Pakistan visited the address of a foreign agent or consorted or associated with a foreign agent, or either within or without Pakistan, the name or address of or any other information regarding a foreign has been found in his possession, or has been obtained by him from any other person”.
The expression “foreign agent”, he said, includes “any person who is or has been or in respect of whom it appears that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting him of being or having been employed by a foreign power either directly or indirectly”. Thus if a visiting card of a foreign diplomat or businessman is found in the possession of anyone and about whom the government may allege that the diplomat or businessman had some time in the past been “an agent” of a foreign power the person from whose possession the visiting card has been found would be liable to be prosecuted and declared guilty of associating with an enemy agent.
He said that in India recently a review of the Secrets Act has been undertaken and the government of Pakistan must also review the outdated Act and bring amendments to it before parliament. The House unanimously adopted the resolution.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk