Justice (retired) Shaiq Usmani has termed the Official Secrets Act and Army Act bills to be legally in effect despite President Arif Alvi’s claims unless foulplay or forgery can be proved.

Shaiq Usmani said he had seen many presidents come and go but something of the sort had never been seen before.

He said that Article 75 gave the option of either giving assent or returning bills with suggestions to the parliament. He added that if the joint sitting sent it back to the president, and it would automatically become law in 10 days.

Usmani said that in the current example it had initally been reported that the president had given assent but has now said that he did not agree with it. Usmani said that he should have given some remarks when he sent the law back.

He said that if the law had been notified, it meant that there was a signature on the law, whether real or forged.

Usmani said that if Alvi said that the signature was not his, it would have to be proved. If it was proved that the signature was not his, it would have to be investigated.

He said that unless it was proved that the signatures were forged the two bills would continue to be law.

Usmani said that Alvi did not fulfill all the requirements that were defined in Articl 75. He said that Alvi’s remarks seemed like an afterthought.

He added that it was possible that the president had made the statement for political reasons as he was getting a bad reputation in the party. He also said that the Supreme Court will not have any role to play in the matter unless investigations pointed out foul-play.

Usmani added that there was a possibility that the Supreme Court could take notice if the president resigned from the position, as it would add gravity to his claims. He added that if he was in Alvi’s position, he would have resigned immediately.