Archival Material (Preservation and Export Control) Act, 1975

The Archival Material (Preservation and Export Control) Act, 1975 controls the export of historically significant Pakistani documents to keep them from leaving the country without oversight, while also giving the National Archives a way to acquire such material. Section 2 defines "archival material" as books, pamphlets, letters, gazettes, newspapers, journals, files, or manuscripts that are at least twenty-five years old and historically significant to Pakistan — specifically including material about the political situation or religious/communal matters in South Asia, original letters by or to the Quaid-e-Azam or the All-India Muslim League, or letters to the President or an office-bearer of the Muslim League or another political, social, or cultural organisation connected with South Asian Muslims.

Section 3 lets the Federal Government, after consulting the Advisory Committee (originally set up by a 1974 notification), make a final and binding decision on whether a particular document qualifies as archival material. Section 4 authorises the Director of Archives, with the Advisory Committee's approval, to purchase such material offered for sale, or accept donations and gifts for preservation in the National Archives of Pakistan.

Section 5 is the export-control core: no one may export archival material except under a licence from the Director, and only for temporary export for exhibition, examination, or preservation treatment. Section 6 makes unlicensed export a Customs Act, 1969 offence (treated as export of prohibited goods, with confiscation where the Customs Act allows it), on top of which the exporter faces imprisonment up to three months or a fine up to five thousand rupees, or both.

Section 7 requires prosecutions to be based on a written complaint from an officer the Federal Government has authorised, and bars trial below a first-class Magistrate. Section 8 protects good-faith actions from suit, and Section 9 requires any confiscated material to go to the Director for safekeeping and preservation. Section 10 gives the Federal Government rule-making power, including for the export-licensing procedure.