ISLAMABAD: July 27, 2027: The Senate of Pakistan has passed a Army Act Amendment Bill 2023 with thumping majority. Deference minister, Khawaja Asif, had moved the bill in the upper house for amendment in the Army Act.
After sailing through the upper house (Senate of Pakistan), the bill will be tabled in the national assembly for its consideration. Since the ruling alliance has vast majority in the national assembly there seems no difficultly for the treasury to get passed the Army Act Amendment 2023. Once the bill sails through the lower house also it will be referred to the president of Pakistan for his endorsement and if he signs the bill it will translate into a law.
The Army Act Bill Amended 2023 slaps ban for five years to take part in politics on a retired army man who had held any sensitive position during service. It also slaps ban on a retired army man for two years from the date of retirement retired on joining the politics. In case of violation, the said individual will get 2- year term. The amended act also slaps 2-year term for an individual found involved in creating hatred for the armed forces in the public through any electronic mean. Any individual found involved in providing sensitive information unlawfully will get 5-year term. Any person who will be found involved in working against the state and its armed forces will be tried under the amended army act.
Apparently, the amendments in the Army Act aim at introducing harsh penalties and punishment for social media activists. Pakistan is worst victim of social media. A large section of the society is using social media platforms, particularly those who are Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek- e- Insaf (PTI) likeminded to target the armed forces. Since there was no law in Pakistan to check any fake or baseless information released on the social media.
The case of Raja Adil, a deserter of the army , is its typical example. This guy targeted top army brass through social media and created hatred among the public against the armed forces of Pakistan. There are hundreds of such examples. Pakistan is perhaps the only country where any individual can appear on social media or even on electronic media to utter whatever he thinks can meet his objectives. Majority of anchors and their guests blame others without having any credible evidence in support of their claims. The new proposed law will definitely help the state check these evils in the future.