A special court in Islamabad sent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi on a four-day physical remand on Monday.

The federal government has set up a special court in Islamabad to hear cases registered across the country under the Official Secrets Act. Qureshi has been remanded to the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency.

The PTI leader was produced before the special court shortly after it had been established through a notification.

This is the first and only court that will hear cases under Official Secrets Act which was recently amended by the parliament.

The special court has been set up in the Anti-terrorism Court No. 1 of Islamabad by redesignating the ATC court. ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain will be hearing the cases.

The court held an in-camera briefing on Monday and any person not linked to the case, including lawyers and journalists, were turned out of the courtroom.

THe FIA requested a 14-day remand for the PTI leader. However, the court reserved decision and approved a four-day remand only.

Qureshi has been under arrest since August 19, hours after media reports said President Arif Alvi had given the signature of apporval to amendments in the Official Secrets Act.

The amendment, however, set off a new controversy when President Arif Alvi on Sunday claimed that he had not sign the amended bill into law. The government has already notified the amendment.

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Petition against amended law

With the president calling into question the notification of the amended laws, the future of the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 will likely be decided in court.

On Monday, a petition seeking suspension of the secrets act was filed in the Lahore High Court.

The Petition stated that President Arif Alvi said in his statement had made clear he did not sign the bills which meant that the act had been passed in accordance with the procedure laid down in the constitution.

The petition claimed that the Official Secrets Act went against the provisions of the Constitution and illegally empowered police and other law enforcement agencies to enter anyone’s home without warrants.

The petition said that under the amended law, it was not mandatory to produce an accused before a judicial magistrate, while articles 4 to 19 of the constitution protected citizens against such arrests.

The petitioner requested the court to annul sections 2,4, and 11 of the amended act and suspend it until a final court judgment.