New Anti-Terror Bill likely to cause massive Human Rights violations in Pakistan
Trampling over the democratic rights of the citizens and increasing the powers of the security establishment, the government of Pakistan quietly introduced a highly controversial bill in the lower house of the parliament, the National Assembly, seeking to grant Pakistan military and civil armed forces the authority to keep individuals facing terrorism charges in ‘preventive’ detention for up to three months.
The bill, which proposes several amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), was quickly referred to the relevant committee by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly without any discussion of its salient features with the opposition parties. Specifically, the bill seeks power for the government authorities to detain any individual for up to three months if they “pose a threat to national security.” The detained individual may not have committed a wrong: under the law, “reasonable suspicion” will be good enough for the state to deprive them of their liberty.
Many experts see this bill as another measure to target ethnic minorities like the Pashtun and Baloch people, journalists, human rights activists, and opposition leaders in Pakistan. It will grant unprecedented powers to Pakistan’s military establishment, which has weakened its judiciary after recent constitutional amendments. The recent counterterrorism failures and the consistent Chinese pressure on the issue of terrorism are other reasons for amending the ATA hurriedly without any discussions about it in the parliament. Moreover, those detained under ‘preventive detention’ cannot seek legal recourse for at least three months after this latest amendment in the ATA. This bill shows the intent of the military establishment: punish dissidents both physically and psychologically with no legal ramifications.
Pakistan has seen countless examples of preventive detention laws being used for much more than simply combating terrorism. For example, they have proven extremely useful for punishing political opponents and dissidents in the country. The language of the new amendments proposed in the ATA is vague enough for the law to be used against anyone whom the state wants to put behind bars for a short period. “Reasonable suspicion” can mean anything in a country where ordinary citizens are routinely charged with terrorism merely for participating in unruly protests. The bill also includes provisions for establishing Joint Interrogation Teams (JITs) composed of members from various law enforcement and intelligence agencies to conduct inquiries. It aims to resurrect several amendments to Clause 11EEEE of the ATA, which lapsed in 2016.
According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons attached to the bill, the “erstwhile amendments of Section 11EEEE of the Act are required to be re-inserted to empower the government, armed forces, and civil armed forces with the necessary authority to detain individuals who pose a significant threat to national security. This provision would allow for the preventive detention of suspects based on credible information or reasonable suspicion, thereby disrupting terrorist plots before they can be executed.” Legal experts claim that the Constitution of Pakistan originally did not allow preventive custody except for that permitted by the law itself. However, over the years, the military establishment has compromised the constitution by successfully pressuring the civilian governments and judiciary to enforce arbitrary preventive detention of dissidents and terror suspects.
Under the present security environment and compromised political leadership, the Pakistan military is further tightening the noose around the people. The substituted section of the Anti-Terrorist Act of 1997 would “lawfully” allow the federal government in Islamabad to order the provincial government to secure the presence of armed forces and civil armed forces in any area for the prevention and punishment of terrorist acts and scheduled offenses in accordance with the provisions of this act. In simpler terms, provincial law and order autonomy will be further eroded under the new changes to the act. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border provinces will witness increasing preventive detentions under the new provisions.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed serious concerns over the recently introduced Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2024 and warned that “preventive detention is not the solution as such powers are liable to be abused.” The most worrying part of the bill is that it empowers Pakistan’s armed forces to detain individuals on mere suspicion and without civilian or judicial oversight. Pakistan is already infamous for cases of enforced disappearances, which have increased manifold after the so-called ‘war on terror’ in the early 2000s. According to the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIED), from 2011 until December 2023, at least 10,078 enforced disappearances have been recorded. Of them, 3,485 took place in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2,752 in Balochistan.
Notably, figures by human rights organizations and families suggest higher numbers than the recorded ones. Moreover, after briefly abducting people, the security agencies release them or use draconian laws and trumped-up charges to silence them. Former Pakistani Senator from Pashtuns-dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Farhatullah Babar, expressed concerns on X/Twitter regarding the amendment, “proposed legislation to allow ‘preventive detention’ by army is giving legal cover to enforced disappearances & military courts. It is institutionalising reign of terror. Those signing it remember; you will be its victims but then too late to regret. Must be resisted at all cost.” In October, Amnesty International noted that the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 has been used to target human rights defenders and protesters in Pakistan. Furthermore, the act is famous for the criminalization of peaceful protesters, violative of the rights to peaceful protest and fair trial.
Nevertheless, international criticism and internal opposition will not stop Pakistan’s military establishment from passing the new amendments in parliament through the selected political leadership. These are face-saving, draconian measures for the security agencies that face criticism over the deteriorating security situation and attacks on Chinese nationals across the country, despite the announcement of a new military operation in June. New anti-terrorism provisions will provide an added legal umbrella for the Pakistan military to detain people on mere suspicion, which it has been doing illegally.
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