THE National Assembly — a forum elected, empowered and entrusted by the nation to safeguard the public interest — has once again capitulated to unelected powers to pass legislation that gravely undermines civil rights.

The amendments to the Official Secrets Act passed by the Lower House on Tuesday read like an autocrat’s wish list: sweeping powers to search and detain; to brand anyone an ‘enemy’ of the state on mere suspicion; to pry into citizens’ personal affairs without a court-issued warrant; to freely use force against suspects who resist such intrusions; and to treat anyone as guilty until they are proven innocent.

It is deeply troubling that whoever had this law drafted clearly not only felt that such extreme measures were ‘appropriate’ against citizens of this country, but that they should also be given sanction. Thankfully, the Senate has refused to abdicate its responsibility. Facing stiff opposition from both government and opposition benches, the Senate chairman has referred the NA-passed bill to the relevant Senate committee for further debate.

It is unfortunate that so few legislators are speaking out while Pakistani democracy is being frogmarched into the shambles by their own hands. A law which empowers the state to consider anyone an ‘enemy’ — even if they have unintentionally interacted with any person or entity deemed to be working against the country — not only runs counter to the established principles of justice, it is dangerous in the hands of a state that routinely brands its own citizens, including elected prime ministers, ‘traitors’.

Likewise, any law that gives intelligence agencies carte blanche to “enter and search any person or place, without a warrant, and if necessary, by use of force, and seize any document, sketch, or like nature, or anything which is or can be evidence” on the basis of mere suspicion is excessive and will only serve to create a climate of perpetual fear.

The same bill also pushes for all materials collected by intelligence agencies during their investigations to be considered admissible as evidence, even when they may not have been collected by legal means. This would include secretly taped conversations or video recordings done without a warrant from a court of law.

Do our lawmakers really want to give intelligence agencies complete impunity to conduct surveillance operations against anyone, which would include themselves, and conveniently justify their intrusive activities later by calling them part of an ongoing investigation?

Even in the worst period of oppression in Pakistan’s history, such a brazen attempt to jettison civil liberties would have prompted an outcry from the thinking segments of society. When the implications are this serious, it is critical that this law is debated further — not just in parliament, but by civil society too. The Senate, meanwhile, must do its duty.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2023