By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s outgoing parliament continued to pass controversial legislation as the tenure of the National Assembly is going to be expired on August 12, this month.

On Tuesday, the major party in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition government, Pakistan Muslim League, and Pakistan People's Party passed amendments in the official secret act, empowering intelligence agencies to enter any place without search warrants from courts. 

However, on Wednesday, some coalition partners of the PDM government distanced themself from the legislation and said they were not taken into confidence before the amendments were presented in the parliament. 

“This is a coalition government.” Daily Dawn quoted Federal Minister for Science and Technology Agha Hassan Baloch, who is a member of the BNP-M party from Balochistan, as saying and adding they were not taken into confidence as the bills are against the democracy

He termed the legislation “regrettable” and said his party is not part of it.

Other lawmakers including PPP Shahida Remani and JUI Aliya Kamran also opposed the process to passing legislation hasty manner without deliberation and lack of quorum.  

According to Dawn, Balochistan Awami Party lawmaker Ehsanullah Reki also protested against legislation in haste.

On Wednesday, former prime minister Imran Khan also criticized the PDM government to making draconian legislation and called it “snatching freedom” from citizens.

Khan while addressing to the nation via social media platforms, said PDM wants to delay the elections, which to be held in October, and take action against those who oppose the delay.

“The nation should speak against the injustice and should not accept to make them slave through [such legislations],” Khan said. 

On Thursday, Pakistan leading newspaper, Dawn in its editorial slammed the National Assembly for hasty legislation and wrote “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 daily called the amendments in the Officials Secret Act as “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.”

The daily also called the amendments “inappropriate” and against the citizens of Pakistan.

However, hailed the Senators who halted the legislation the Senate. 

Analysts believed that the latest legislation aimed to further target the main opposition party PTI of Imran Khan as PTI enjoys wide public support and in case of an election, the ruling alliance PDM could face defeat. 

Imran Khan already facing some 200 cases under terrorism, murder, attempted murder, blasphemy, acts against the state, etc since April 2022.