The National Assembly passed the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill on Monday, 2023 after making some alterations to the original draft — just like the Senate had a day earlier.
The most significant alteration made in the now-adopted bill was the removal of a clause that would have granted intelligence agencies the power to arrest suspects or conduct searches without warrants. This amendment was made by a Senate committee during the bill’s vetting process.
Another change was made to clause 5 of the bill, which earlier stated: “[A] person may be presumed to have been in communication with an enemy or a foreign agent if he has, either within or without Pakistan visited the address of a foreign agent or consorted or associated with the enemy or a foreign agent…”