What is the Official Secrets Act that Pakistan Army wants to use against Imran Khan

Pakistani Army is in full retaliatory mood against former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and his supporters over the violence that rocked Pakistan after Khan’s arrest on May 9.

Since military installations were also targetted and damaged by the PTI supporters, the Pakistani army has hinted that it will be taking action against Imran Khan and the people involved in the violence. 

The army has shown its intent of using the Pakistani Army Act and the Officials Secret Act against the PTI leader and his supporters who were behind the attacks on military installations in Pakistan.

The law which violates the fundamental rights of the citizens has been contenious over its use in Pakistan by the various governments. It acts as a tool for the government to go after the dissenting elements of the state.

What is the Official Secrets Act?

It is a colonial law that was brought by the Britishers in 1923 to keep the people oblivious to some of the government's actions. Even though Pakistan formulated its own constitution in 1956, it did not scrap this colonial rule and retained it in its rule book.

Under this act, any piece of information can be declared as secret or classified without any formality or explanation, contrary to the constitutionally guaranteed right to information for citizens.

The government is free to declare any information “confidential” as the law does not describe any guidelines as to why a document is labelled as secret. Even the Parliament of Pakistan can be denied information on this pretext.

Similarly, under this act, a person can be charged even on suspicion. Under this act, if a person enters an area where there is a signboard of “prohibited area”, he or she can undergo 14 years of imprisonment.

According to this act, your meeting with a foreigner or diplomat can land you in prison. Section 4 of the act deals with the communication with ‘foreign agents’, which is also considered an offence against the state, reported the Tribune.

Imran Khan’s strained relations with the army

PTI chief’s strained relations with the army of the country is known to everyone. The fall out between Khan and the army was out in the open after the former PM was ousted from the office in April 2022 after losing the no-confidence motion.

Khan had then publicly accused the army of meddling into Pakistan’s politics and orchestrating his removal. Now, after his arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust Case and the violence that broke out in Pakistan, the army has vowed to take strict action against Khan, as it believes that the violence was carried out at his behest.

What's next for Imran?

The coming days might be troublesome for Imran Khan as he is at loggerheads with the Pakistani government as well as the army, and there are several cases lodged against him.

The political turmoil in Pakistan is expected to get worse in the coming few months as the cash-starved country is slated to go for polls later this year.